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THE 



Home Mechanic 



AND 



COMPLETE SELF=INSTRUCTOR 



IN 



CARPENTRY, PAINTING, HORSESHOEING, 

SOAP WAKING, CANDY MAKING, 

BAKING, TAXIDERMY, 

TANNING, &c. 



BY 



R. J. SCHOFIELD, 

AND OTHER SPECIALISTS. 



NEW YORK : '^ H Q 4 5' 



-c:-' 



EXCELSIOR PUBLISHING HOUSE, 
T. J. CAREY & CO., Proprietor§, 

26 City Hall Place. 






Copyright 1897 

BY 

T. J. CAREY & CO. 



CONTENTS. 



Practical Carpentry. 



The Carpenter's Tool Chest 

and Contents 9 

The Carpenter's Shop and 

Equipment 30 

The Use of Tools 34 

Builders' Hardware 44 

Drawing for Carpenters 48 

Specifications 57 



Detail Drawings 71 

The Framing of Roofs 78 

Tredgold's Rules 81 

Uow to Pile Lumber 83 

Leveling 84 

Form of Contract 85 

Glossary 87 



Painting in its Various Branches. 



The Evils of Painting and 

their Remedy 99 

Cleanliness 104 

A Few Rules to be Ob- 
served 107 

Analysis of Colors 109 

Smalts 116 

Dryers 118 

Oils 118 

Lime Water 119 

Pumice Stone \ 119 

Fire-Proof Paint 120 

Varnishes 120 

Mixing Colors and Using 

them 124 

Mixing Tints 127 

Contrast and Harmony 129 

Transparent Colors 131 

Semi-Transparent Colors. . 131 



Miscellaneous Items and 

Rules 133 

Varnishing 138 

Glazing 139 

Lettering 140 

Fancy Letters 145 

Gold Letters 147 

Graining 154 

Marbles 159 

Kalsomining and Distem- 
per 162 

Lime Whitewash 169 

Wall Painting 170 

Staining 172 

Glass Staining 173 

Rules for Measuring Paint- 
ers' Work 177 

Practical Paper Hanging. . 184 



CONTENTS. 



Sign Painting. 



Sign Painting 187 

Colors 1^8 

Dryers 19i 

Smalts 192 

First Operations 193 

Rules for Contrasts 196 

Harmony 196 

Table of Tints 197 

Letters 198 

Gilding 200 

Quick Drying Size 201 

A Size Known to but 

Few 201 

For a Size Exposed to the 

Weather 203 

Drying Oils 203 

The Best Process 204 

Zinc Dryer 20o 



Cold-made Drying Oil for 

Ordinary Purposes 206 

Gilding on Glass !fc06 

Outlining upon Glass 207 

Changeable Signs 208 

Japanned Tin Signs 209 

Remarks on Shading 209 

Painting on Cloih or Silk, 210 

Size for Bronzing 211 

Varnishes for Sign Work. 211 

Quick Drying Varnish 211 

3Iiscellaneous Receipts 213 

To Lay Smalt Grounds., .. 213 

Flocks 213 

Facing Putty for Signs. . . 213 
Glass Signs with Pearl Set- 
tings 214 

Size to Fix the Pearl 216 



Fresco Painting. 



Fresco Painting 217 

Figure Painting 225 

Of Light and Shade 225 

Center Pieces with Flow- 
ers 228 

Flowers in Relief 228 

Color for Ceilings, Walls, 

etc 228 

Church Colors 229 

Public Halls or Lecture 

Rooms 230 

Dwelling Houses 230 

Browns for Shading 232 

Ceilings Ornamented with 

Gold 232 

Painting Vestibules and 

Halls to Stand Washing, 233 
Mixture of Colors for Pan- 
eling of Walls or Vesti- 
bules 233 



Necessary Tools 235 

To Prepare Tracing or 

Transparent Paper 236 

Copying or Tracing Sheets, 236 
Pouncing Ornaments of 

any Kind 237 

Stenciling 287 

Orders of Architecture . . . 238 

TruBcan Order 239-240 

Doric Order 241 

Corinthian Order 242 

Ionic Order 243 

Composite Order 243 

Borders 244 

Combination Scroll 245 

Corners 246 

Wall Decoration in Tints. . 247 
Wall and Wall Panel Dec- 
orations .248-253 



CONTENTS. 



Carriage Painting. 



Coach Painting 254 

Materials Required 255 

Colors 260 

How to Varnish 266 



Facing Putty for Small 

Flaws 269 

Firing Off 269 

Car Painting 270 



Furniture and Cabinet Finishing. 



Polishing Materials 277 

Puttying 279 

Glue 280 

Varnishing 282 

Darkening 285 

Bleaching 288 

Stains 288 

Dyeing 298 

Imitations 303 

Fillers 309 

Finish 312 

French Polish 317 



Enameled Furniture 322 

Stenciled Work 828 

Graining 829 

Marbling on Wood 8a8 

Veneering 342 

Marqueterie Work 352 

Buhl Work 355 

Ormolu 356 

Inlaying 356 

Ivory Work 358 

Miscellaneous Receipts 361 



Horse Shoeing. 



Horse Shoes in History 369 

Theory and Practice 372 

Preparing the Foot 373 

The Shoe 875 

Choosing a Shoe 876 

Cutting Off the Heels 877 

The Nail Holes 378 

Fitting the Shoe 380 



Filing Up the Shoe 387 

Nails 388 

Nailing on the Shoe 389 

Shoeing with Leather. .... 392 

The Hind Shoe 395 

Cutting 398 

Removing 898 

General Observations 399 



Diseases of the Horse's Foot. 



Inflammation of Foot — 

Acute Founder 406 

Chronic Founder 409 

Pumiced Feet 410 

Contraction 411 

The Navicular Joint Dis- 
ease 416 

Sand-Crack 418 

Tread fvnd Over-Reach 420 

False Quarter 421 



Quittor 422 

Prick or Wound in Sole or 

Crust 426 

Corns 428 

Thrush 431 

Canker 433 

Ossification of the Carti- 
lages 435 

Weakness of the Foot 435 



CONTENTS. 



Soap Making and Washing Fluids. 



What Soap Is and How to 

Test It 437 

Adulteration of Soap 438 

How Soap is Made in Gen- 
eral 439 

Soap from Home-Made 

Caustic Soda 440 

Country Soap Making 441 

Washing Fluids 443 

Soft Soap 445 

Process for Purifying Soap 
Grease and Rendering it 
Suitable for Soap Mak- 
ing 445 

How to Prepare New Fat 
and Separate from it the 
Skins in which it is Held, 445 
A New Way to Prepare 
Animal Fat for Soap 
Making to Keep it Sweet, 446 
To Make Soap from Grain- 
ed Tallow 447 

Preparation of Domestic 
Soap bv Pan on the Open 
Fire.. I 448 



Rosin Soap 453 

Transparent Soaps 453 

For Soap Making by the 

Cold Way 453 

Soap Making by Steam 454 

Soap Making in Closed 

Vessels 456 

Soap Boiling with Live 

Steam Used Direct 457 

Boiling with Superheated 

Steam 458 

Adulteration of Soap 459 

Fused Sulphate of Soda. .. 461 

Mottled Soap 461 

Toilet Soaps 462 

Scenting Soaps, Hot and 

Cold 468 

Saponaceous Cream of Al- 
monds 471 

Soap Powders 471 

Ambrosial Cream 472 

Emulsines 473 



Candy Making, Etc. 



The Shop Front 477 

Sugar Boiling for Candy. . 479 

Clarifying Sugar 481 

Sugars Used 482 

Glucose — Grape Sugar. , . . 483 

Crystalizing 483 

Colors 485 

Tools 488 

Flavors 498 

The Stove 499 

Modes of Working 499 

Molasses Candies 502 

Walnut Candy 505 



Peanut or Ground Nut 

Candy 505 

Pop Corn Cake and Balls.. 506 

Fig Paste 507 

Caramels 508 

Cream Drops 510 

Cream Prunes, Raspberry 
and Almond Choco- 
lates 513 

Plain Icing — 513 

Drops or Pastilles 514 

Starch Moulds 520 

Rosolios or Kisses 522 



CONTENTS. 



Cocoanut Paste, Cream, 

Ice or Candy 523 

"Rocks" 523 

Nogat 525 

Burnt and Sugared Al- 
monds 527 

Cream Candy 528 

Lemon Drops and Cough 

Candy 529 

Sugared Peanuts and Ho- 
neycomb Candy 530 

Chips 531 

Imitation Plum Puddings, 531 
Rock Candy and Brandy 
Balls 532 



Comfits or Nonpareils 533 

Candied Calamus or Sweet 

Flag 539 

Lozenges 540 

Preserving 542 

To Restore Stale Acid Can- 
dy to its Original Unfla- 

vored Condition 545 

Spinning Sugar, Piping, 
Gum Paste Ornaments, 

etc 546 

Chewing Gum 549 

Ice Cream and Ices 549 

Soda Water Syrups 552 



Bread, Cake and Cracker Baking, Etc. 



Yeast 557 

Mixture of Flour 559 

The Bin 560 

The Dough 561 

Home-Made Bread 563 

Cream, Twist and Split 

Bread 564 

Graham and Rye Bread. . . 565 
566, 575 
Boston Brown Bread and 

French Bread 566, 567 

The Oven 568 

Vienna Breads 570 

Grisini (Italian Bread) 575 

Wheat and Indian — Rye 

and Indian 575 

Astor House Rolls 576 

Muffins 576 

Crumpets 579 

Buns and Rusks 581 

Pound Cake Mixtures 596 



Sponge Mixtures 605 

Miscellaneous Cakes 613 

Crullers 615 

Strawberry Short Cake. ... 616 

Icing 617 

Charlotte Russe 617 

Waffles 618 

Corn Cake 618 

Pastry 619 

Pie Fillings 625 

Meringues 633 

Maccaroons 634 

Gingerbreads 637 

Ornamenting Cakes 642 

Crackers 650 

Leavened Crackers 652 

English Biscuits made with 

Yeast 656 

Soft Biscuits 660 

Vocabulary of Terms in 

Baking 662 



Taxidermy, Etc. 



Skinning, Preparing and 
Mounting Quadrupeds. . 663 

Skinning, Stuffing and Pre- 
servation of Birds 679 



Instructions for Mounting 
Birds, Dried Skins, Fea- 
thers, etc 700 

Method of Cleaning, Pre- 



CONTENTS. 



paring and Preserving 
Birds' Eggs 717 

Skinning, Preserving and 
Setting up Fishes, Rep- 
tiles and Molluscous Ani- 
mals 723 

The Collection and Preser- 
vation of Spiders, In- 
sects, etc 784 



Preservation of Natural 
and Artificial Skeletons, 751 

The Chase and Manner of 
Collecting Animals, etc. 755 

Recipes of the Various Ar- 
ticles Used in the Preser- 
vation and Setting up of 
Animals, etc 762 



Valuable Receipts for Everybody. 



Patent Medicines and How 

to Make Them 773 

Hair Oils, Pomatums, etc. 789 

Hair Dyes 797 

Tooth Washes and Pow- 
ders 799 

Perfumery 804 

Cosmetics for the Skin 809 

Face Paints 813 

Common and Fancy Soaps, 813 



Medical Herbs, Roots, etc. 8! 8 

Popular Beverages 823 

Candies 831 

Remedies for Vermin 834 

Receipts for Inks 837 

Receipts for Manufactur- 
ers 842 

Valuable Secrets 85 1 

Hints for Housekeepers. . . 855 
Receipts for Horses 864 



Tanning. 



Tanning 865 

How to Obtain Tannin. ... 865 

Salting Hides 866 

Tanning Skinswith Fur on, 867 



Depilation 867 

Processes for Tanning, 

868, 869, 870 



Miscellaneous. 



Designs for Finished Fen- 
ces.., 872 

Rustic Fences 874 

Rustic Gateways 876 

To Estimate Live Cattle... 878 
Price per Dozen, when 



number sold for a Quar- 
ter is given =. 878 

Measurement for Bricks, 879 

Stone Measure 881 

Land Measurement 882 

Wages Table 885 



PRACTICAL CARPENTRY. 



THE CARPENTER'S TOOL CHEST. 



The Caepenteb's Tool Chest is a wooden box about 3 feefc 
long, 2 feet wide and 2 feet high ; the body of the box of 
plank one inch thick dovetailed together. In our engraving 
we show the chest "with one end removed, by which the 
interior arrangement can be seen. The material for a chest 
must be well seasoned, otherwise the shrinkage of sides will 
cause the lids and trays to bind. White pine of inch thick- 
ness is good for the body of the chest ; dovetails should be 
snug all through, not only because a tool chest should be an 
advertisement of a carpenter's workmanship, but when filled 
it is so heavy that strength requires that every part should fit 
well. The bottom of the chest is of narrow boards tongued 
and grooved together, because, as chests are often set upon 
damp floors, the narrow T)oards of the bottom are not so 
much affected by it as wider ones would be. The chest lid is 
framed, that is instead of being all in one piece it is n^ade of 
several pieces joined together, and is therefore less liable to 
shrink or swell. That we may understand what a piece of 
frame work is, in fig. 2 is given a little drawing of the lid. In 
this lid all the pieces, stiles, rails and panels are one inch 
thick ; the stiles have oblong square holes called mortices, 
made in them as shown on edge of stile, and by the dotted 
lines ; at the end of the rails are the tenons, formed by the 
saw, which fit exactly into the mortices ; their business is to 
hold fast in the mortices, for the good workman not only 
makes the tenons to fill the mortices exactly, but when the 
panels are in he drives in at the end of each tenon a narrow 
wedge dipped in glue, by which the stile is held fast to the 
rail. The panels are made to fit exactly the space enclosed 
by the rails and stiles and are held in place by a tongue cut 
on their edges, which fits into a groove cut all round in the 

9 



10 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



inner edges of the stiles and rails, as shown on the section, 
for by the section we have a view of the lid as it would appear 
if cut straight through panels and rails. In our chest lid the 
panels, rails and stiles are all of the same thickness, and the 
joints are so neatly made that we can hardly tell that it is not 
all one solid piece. The base and necking of our chest is of 
oak, f inch thick, and neatly dovetailed at the comers ; it is 
screwed on to the body of the chest, and edges of the lid 
On the top of the lid, we find on the sides and edges of the 




Fig. 1. — Carpenter's Tool Chest. 

iid, strips of hoop iron y^g-inch thick and 1 inch wide, neatly 
let in even with the top surface of lid — or " flush " as it is 
called — and screwed on. The object of putting on this iron 
is to prevent the top edges of the chest lid from becoming torn 
by the saw in case any one should use our chest as a saw-horse ; 
it will also prevent the corner being marred by heavy pieces 
of stuff falling against it, as they may accidentally do. 

Our chest, we will mention, is painted of a sober drab or 
stone color on the outside as it is the best for wear, and there 
are stout flush heavy iron handles at each end, while the lid 
is hung with three heavy brass butts. 

Now" we will raise the lid and look into the interior. We 
find that the trays, the slides on which they run, and all the 
fittings on the inside are of hard wood, well oiled and rubbed ; 
the trays are dovetailed together, and the partitions in the 
compartment under the trays are grooved or " dadoed " into 
the sides. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 11 

t 

The first thing we see in the open chest is the square rack, 
on the front side just under the lid ; it is a shelf about 1^ 
inches wide, with slot cut in it in which we find the tongues 
of the steel and try squares, while the blades and stocks rest 
on the rack. The steel square is very much used in putting 
up the frames of buildings, and indeed in all work. 

We also find the try squares in the square rack ; they are 
used for trying the edges of the plank when they are jointed 
up at the bench. The panel square resembles the try square 



EDGE OF STICE 



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pANEL 


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PANEL 


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IRAILr! PANEL WAIUi PANEL J-RATlTI 

SECTION 

Fig. 2. — Carpenter's Tool Chest. — Sectional View. 



in appearance, but the blade is longer ; the square is used to 
make shoulders of inch panels and raMs on shop work ; it is 
seldom taken out to the building. 

The bevel is a square with a shifting blade ; it is used for 
jointing up stuff to any required bevel, as for instance in get- 
ting out staves for a column ; it is also very handy about a 
building. 

We will now open the saw tray in which we find the rip and 
cross cut, the back, and compass saws . 

The rip saw and manner of using it are shown in fig. 3, page 
13. It has 8 teeth to 3 inches, and is 28 or 30 inches long 
in the blade. The teeth are intended only to cut stuff len^h- 



12 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

■wise with the grain, they are " sefc," that is one tooth is bent 
out beyond the surface of the side of the blade on one side, 
and the next tooth is bent the other way, and so alternating, 
so that in case the material to be ripped is damp, the set of 
the teeth will clear sufficient space for the blade. Saws are 
set with a little instrument called a saw-set, of which there are 
many varieties. This instrument is usually regulated by a 
thumb-screw at the end, by which the set may be made either 
coarse or fine. When this screw is out its full length a saw 
set with it would have a very coarse set the further it is in, 
the finer set it will give. When we set a saw, we bend every 
other tooth all along one side, then turn the blade over and 
bend the alternate teeth to the other side. 

Saw FttjTkg. — The saw is a series of knives set on a line ; 
every tooth is a knife, and cuts a small portion of the material; 
each is kept from cutting too deep by the tooth on either side ; 
each tooth should cut its allotted chip or sHce of the material, 
carry it along and drop it on the outside. The perfection of 
the saw is for it to cut fast and smooth with the very least 
expenditure of power. To do this it is evident that every tooth 
should be so constructed as to do its own proportion of work, 
for if one tooth is out of shape, or out of Hne with the others, 
it is not only useless but a hindrance and disadvantage to the 
rest. 

We find many good mechanics that always used saws who 
frankly acknowledge that they never could file a saw, satis- 
factorily to themselves at least. The reason probably is, they 
never studied the principle of the working or action of the 
instrument. There is no reason why a man who knows enough 
to use a saw, should not be able to put it in complete order, 
although it is more of a science than many would imagine. 

It is astonishing what mis^-able saws are sometimes used 
by mechanics, or those claiming to be such. The only way 
they can be coaxed or.driven through the wood is by having 
an enormous set, a Uberal use of oil, and another lubricator 
called elbow-grease. The difference between the work of one 
of these saws and one in proper order is about the same as 
that between a hole bored by a sharp auger and one gnawed 
by rats. It brings to mind the remark of the wood-sawyer, 
who, puffing and blowing from the exertion of using a bad 
saw, said, ** Of all the saws I ever saw saw, I never saw a saw 
saw as this saw saws. " 

Our object with the cross-cut is to sever the fibers or threads 
of the wood, and as the material is non-elastic or unyielding 



THE HOME MECHANIC. , 13 

we must cut each- fiber in two twice, so as to leave a small 
groove or kerf as we proceed, so that the material will not 
bind or pinch as the saw passes through the wood, owing to 
inequalities in the blade of the saw . 

A saw should be filed so truly that it shows an angular 
groove along its whole length on the edge, so that a fine 
needle will slide the whole length of the saw without falling oft". 
The cutting is all done with the outside edge of the too*-,h, 
the wood crumbling out from point to point of each tooth as 
the saw moves. 

Now the sharper each tooth is — that is, the more bevel on 
the point, the deeper it will cut, but it must not cut any- 
deeper than will crumble out across to the point of the other 
tooth. This is iJie difference between saws for hard and soft 
wood. If a saw for hard wood has too much bevel on the point 
it will score deeper into the wood than it can carry out the 
chip, so that it will keep moving up and down in ttie same 
scores and not accomplish anything. It follows then that for 
soft wood we may file the back edge or point of the tooth 
quite beveling, while the harder or tougher the wood the less 




i2ip ^OAJO and manner of Using. 



bevel we must file the back of the tooth, for the bevel of the 
back of the tooth governs the bevel of the point, being regu- 
lated by the angle at which the file is held. 

The cutting edge of a tooth should incline rather than be 
perpendicular. It is a common fault with cross-cut saws, 
to make the teeth too hooking, as it is called. The idea is 
that the saw takes hold better. This may be true, but it will 



14 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

be like the man's razor that took hold first rate, but didn't 
let go worth a cent. 

Using the Rip Saw. — The rip saw, as we have said before, 
is only to be used in cutting stuff lengthwise, when the cut 
to be sawed is over two or three feet in length. It is usual 
to mark the cut with a chalk line, which is generally a stout 
cotton fish-cord, kept wound on a chalk reel. With this reel 
generally comes a scratch awl. To use the chalk-Une, tie a 
loop in the end and fasten it with the scratch-awl at one end 
of the line to be cut ; rub the line with a piece of white chalk, 
and pull it tight over the other end of the required line ; 
lift it between the two and let it snap on the board, and a 
straight white line apjDcars below it. The chalk line is very 
handy about a building to mark straight lines on floors, on 
ceilings to set patterns by, on roofs to lay shingles on straight 
lines, &c. 

As we have got a straight line on our board, we commence 
to saw. We must never jam or push a saw through a cut ; by 
doing so, we can never cut as fast ; we waste our strength, 
and if we put on pressure when the end of the blade is near 
the top of the plank, we are apt to bend and "buckle " it, 
that is, cause a little check or spHt between some particles of 
steel in the blade, and render the saw worthless. Beginners 
must learn to hold the saw perpendicular, square with top of 
the plank, and at first we can apply our try square alongside 
the blade at the end of the first few strokes, place it in the 
angle formed by our saw-blade and the top of the plank ; if 
that angle is the same as our try square we are sawing plumb. 
It is important at the very outset to do this right. 

From our desire to cut fast we can't help bearing too heav- 
ily on the saw at first, and find it di£S.cult to cut the line. Re- 
member to bear on Hghtly, and not to force or jam the saw ; 
you will get on much faster, and do the work a great deal 
better. 

Ckoss-Cut Saw. — The cross-cut saw is similar in general 
appearance to the rip saw. It has a blade 26 inches in length, 
and has 15 teeth to 4 inches or more, according to fineness. 
The teeth are formed differently from those of the rip saw, 
and this saw is only used, as its name implies, for cutting 
across the grain. The same care should be taken to saw 
square up and down, and to be sparing of force as has been 
directed in the case of the rip saw. 

Back Saw. — The back saw (fig. 4, page 15) has a thin blade 
^vith fine teeth ; it is kept straight and stiff by a brass or steel 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



Iff 



back. It is of various sizes, and is used generally on the 
work-bench in the shop for cutting across the face of dressed 
work, as the cheeks from the sides of tenons, dovetails, &c. 




Fig. 4. — Back Saw. 

Compass Saw. — The compass saw has a very narrow but tol- 
erably stiff and heavy blade ; it is used for cutting out curved 
or circular lines, and is also handy in the building to start 
cuts in narrow places where the wider blade of the other 
saws will not enter, and here we will again repeat our cau- 




Mg. 5. — Compass Saw. 

tion about forcing a saw ; don't push the compass saw, or you 
will be apt to break it off short, as the blade fs narrow ; keep 
it sharp and let it run lightly. 

Besides the saws we have mentioned a carpenter will some- 
times need a dovetail saw for fine work, which is only a small 
back saw with fine teeth ; and a key-hole saw, which is a 
light fine compass saw blade set in a handle into which saws 
of different kinds can be fixed. 

Bench Planes. — ^We have now examined the contents of 
the saw tray. "We will' look into the large space between the 
other trays and the front of the chest. Here when the chest 
is packed, we find the bench planes, so called because the 
carpenter, when at work in the shop, needs them all the time, 
and they always lie at the Lead of the bench ready to hand. 
They are the jack plane, fore plane, jointer, and smoothing 
plane. 



16 



TBB HOME MEOBAmO. 



iron 



Jack PiiANE. — This is 18 inches long, and carries a 2i inch 
it is used to take off the rough surface of plank from 

the saw-mill, and also to re- 
move considerable inequalities 
when required. The iron is 
ground rounding, so that more 
edge projects from the center 
than toward the sides when 
the iron is set in the plane ; 
but we will describe that mat- 
ter more fuUy further on in 
our present little volume. ( See page 17. ) 

The Eobe Plane. — This plane is from 18 to 22 inches long, 
with an iron 2% or 2% inches long ; it is used for " trying 
up," or bringing the surface of a board to a level surface. 




6. — Jack Plane. 




Fig. 7.— Fore Plane. 

after the jack plane has taken off the rough. We take off the 
shavings the whole length of the stuff with it, and when using 
it occasionally lay it on one lower edge crosswise of the stuff, 
to see where the surface is uneven, and wants bringing down. 

The Smoothing Plane. — This is 7 
to 9 inches long, with a 2 or 23^ inch 
iron ; it is used as a finishing plane 
to smooth off the joints in any framed 
work after it is put together, and to 
put a smooth surface on most house 
finishing lumber. The iron should bs 
kept fine set and sharp, so that the 
plane will take off a tMn silky shav- 
ing. We show two common forms 
of the smoothing plane in figs. 8 and 9, on this and the suc- 
ceeding page. 

The Jointek. — This is a plane of from 24 to 30 inches in 
length, used for bringing the edges of the stuff straight, as in 
the stiles and rails of doors, when preparing joints to be 




Fig. 8. — Smoothing Plane 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



17 



glued up, door and window cssings and trimmings, and any- 
other purposes where straight joints are required. When 
using it we take a shaving off 
the full length of the stuff, 
walking along as we push the 
plane, occasionally sighting 
along the edge from the end. 
By closing one eye we can see 
where a long hollow or rise in 
the edge requires a few extra 
shavings just here or there to 
make it true. While using the 
jointer we carry in our left hand the small try square if we 
are jointing work that must be exactly square, as all framed 
work must be to be tight, and we test the squareness of our 
joint every little while, and regulate our shaving from one 
side or the other as required. 




Fig. 9. — Smoothing Plane. 




Fig. 10. — Tlie Jointer. 

Treatment of Bench Planes. — When we purchase a set 
of bench planes (and as they are so constantly in use it pays 
to get the best), we should give them at least three good 
coats of the best raw linseed oil, taking care to let the oil sop 
well into the ends ; this prevents the planes from checking, 
renders them less liable to be affected by dampness, and 
makes them a trifle heavier, which in the case of the fore 
plane and jointer is an advantage. Bench planes should be 
kept true in the face ; they are apt to wear and become 
" winding," as shown in fig. 01, and it becomes necessary to 
dress it true ; to do this, put another plane in good order, 
and set very fine, so that it may take off very thin shavings ; 
put the plane to be operated on in the bench screw ; do not 
remove the iron or wedge, however, but set the iron about 
y^ inch below the face of the plane. If there be a hollow or 
curve in the piece you can sight along the edge, detect and 



18 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



remove it, as in the case of an ordinary piece of stuff, but if 
the face is "in wind," or "winding," get two steel squares, 
place the blades so that one will be across the front, the other 




Fig. 11. — Winding. 



Fig. 12. — Not Winding. 



Fig. 13. — Plane Iron. 



across the tops. Fig. 11 shows a plane, of which the face is 
seen to be very much winding ; fig. 12 shows the blades of the 
squares as they appear when the winding of the face has been 
planed off. 

The PiiANE Ieon, fig. 13, is composed of two pieces ; the 
upper one in the illustration is the cutting iron, which is of 
steel ; it has a slot or long narrow hole cut in it, with a large 

^ ^ round hole at the upper end of the slot. 

The lower piece in our drawing is called 
the cap iron ; it is fastened to the other 
by a screw, and when the screw is loose 
it slides easily in the slot, and can be de- 
tached by sliding up the round hole. The edge of the iron 
proper can be regulated to cut with various degrees of fineness 
by the cap being sel and screwed fast at certain distances above 
it. In cross-grained and curly wood the cap iron should be set 
close over the edge, to prevent the iron from taking out deep 
chunks of wood as it would were the cap set some distance 
from the edge ; but the great secret of doing smooth work 
with the plane or any other tool is to have a sharp edge ; in- 
deed, old carpenters tell us that when a boy has learned how 
to keep his tools sharp and in good order, he has learned 
half his trade. 

The plane iron is sharpened on the grindstone. The new 
beginner must guard against giving too long a bevel to his 
plane irons, that is, malang too thin an edge ; for although a 
thin edge cuts well, some steel is very apt to break at hard 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 19 

knots in the wood ; and if we have a thin edge, it may take 
a long rubbing on the oil-stone to take out the nick, or we 
may even have to resort to the grindstone again. 

The Hammeb. — Those who "never can drive a nail with- 
out splitting the board" may readily overcome this. Look- 
ing at a nail you will perceive that for some distance under 
the head, the nail is broader than it is below ; now a nail 
must always be driven so that this broad side is on a line with 
the grain, not at right angles to it ; if at right angles, the 
wood is sure to spUt, as every blow v.ith the hammer tears 
apart the fibers ; whereas, if the nail be driven mth broad 
side on a line parallel to fiber or grain of wood, the broader 
part wedges in lengthwise, and makes the nail hold strongly. 
To drive a nail well however needs practice. Never get a 
cheap iron hammer, such a one as you will see lying in a 
tray in front of a Cheap John hardware store at 25 cents, 
having only an iron face ; the striking surface soon becomes 
rounding, and one is as likely to crush a finger or mar the 
surface of the wood as to diive a nail home with such a ham- 
mer. 

The Natl Set is a Uttle piece of steel of 3 or 4 inches in 
length, generally made of an old round file ; it is used to set 
the nail head below the surface of the wood, where the holes 
are to be puttied up and the work painted. 

The MAiiLET. — The mallet of the carpenter is generally of 
lignum vitas, or other hard wood. It is used to strike the head 
of the chisel in mortising, &c. , as it is not liable to split the 
wooden handles of the chisels, as the hammer is almost sure 
to do. 




Mg. U.—The Brace. 

The Brace ani> Bit. — We generally find the brace stowed 
away with the bench planes, &c., in the front part of the 
chest. Braces are made of wood bound with brass, or of 
iron or steel. We show in our engraving one of the latter. 



20 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



Into the end are fixed various **bits," some of which we show 
in figs. 15 to 22, as "countersink," "reamers," and "taper 
shell bits," for boring and widening out holes in wood and 
metal. 



MDIfp 



S. i> 



;2il3Iia 



— iiP* 



Fig. 1^.— Spoon Bit. Fig. 16.— Center Bit. Fig. 17.— Lip Bit. 

The Eeamek. — This bit is used for widening out holes in 
metal ; for instance, in an iron hinge the holes in which are 
a little too small for the screws. 



Fig. 18. — Reamer. u Fig. 19. — Conntersink. 

The Cohnteesink. — This bit is used for widening out the 
hole at top, so that the screw may be driven in and its head 
appear level with the surface. 



Fig. 20.— Auger Bit. 



Fig. 21.— Pod Bit. 



The Augeb Brr. — The common form of auger bit is shown 
in fig. 20. There are two cutters in this bit, one on either 
side, and they are apt to wear down, and then the bit is good 
for very little. The best and most rapidly cutting auger bit 
is made by giving a curve to the cutting edge. They can be 
kept sharp by the rat-tail file. 

The Screwdbivek Bit is very handy, as by it screws can 

be turned in much more rapidly than by the ordinary screw- 

driver, which is quite a consideration whenever 

«■-!!""'■■ [111111111111 ,, ' J J. ± • 3 

there are a good many screws to turn m, and 
Mg, 22.— Screw- ^^Q have the work on the bench in a position 

driver Bit. -^bere we can use the brace with ease. 

Gauges. — The gauge is used for drawing lines on a piece 
of stuff parallel to one of its edges. By the scale of inches 
on the side of the head the gauge can be set at the required 
distance from the little cutter near the end on the lower side, 
and made fast by the wooden thumb screw in the head, then 
by sHding the gauge along the straight side of a board, a 
shallow cut is made. The gauge is used in getting out strips, 
&c. , of uniform width on the bench. After a straight edge is 
planed on one side we mark with the gauge the required 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



21 



width, and then plane or saw off the wood beyond it. 
Gauges are generally made of hard wood. 

The Mortise Gauge has two markers, and besides a slid- 
ing head with screw ; it has also a screw slide, on the end of 
which is fixed one of tbo markers, whose distance from the 






^ 



fe; 



I 

<C5 




to 










other can be regulated by the screw at the end. This gauge 
is used for marking out the mortises and tenons in framed 
work, as doors, or as in the chesfc lid shown in fig. 1, page 10. 
The mortises are cut out with chisels, and the tenons set in 
the bench screw, and cut down with the rip saw. There are 
also panel gauges for marking the width of broad panels, and 



** THE HOME MECHANIC. 

cutting gauges, in which the points are knives which make a 
cut of a quarter or haK an inch in depth. 

The Stanley Rule and Level Company, New York, make 
gauges with several valuable improvements. One consists in 
substituting for the ordinary point, which is driven into the 
bar of the guage, a long and nicely tempered steel point, 
which is held firmly in its place in the slot at the end of the 
gauge bar by a screw, shown in fig. 23. When the use of a 
gauge mark is necessary nearer the corner of inside work than 
an ordinary gauge will work, the adjustable point can be in- 
serted at the extreme end of the bar, and outside of the screw. 
Another, included in all the better quahty of gauges, is a brass 
shoe, which is inserted in the gauge head between the bar and 
the end of the screw, to protect the gauge bar from being 
dented or made uneven by the action of the screw. They 
make also a patent mortise and marking gauge, shown in fig. 
24, with the shoe, and embracing a method of regulating one 
point of the mortise gauge by a thumb-screw at the end of 
the bar. Another is a the patent double gauge, having two 
wooden bars, both of which are graduated. By its use rapid- 
ity is promoted in turning off work wliich requires gauging 
at two distinct points. The tool may be used for a mortise 
gauge by setting the two points at the required distance apart, 
and turning the gauge in the hand as it is pushed forward 
or drawn backward. Both bars in this gauge have the brass 
shoe. 

The SpmiT Level is generally made of mahogany. It is 
used for testing horizontal and perpendicular surfaces, as in 
setting window and door frames, and other work about a 
house. There is on the upper edge a small glass tube filled 
with alcohol, with only a little bubble of air left in it. When 
the level is placed horizontally the bubble stands in the center 
of the tube. If not horizontal it is at the highest end. In 
the same way, when the edge is placed against any upright 
surface, the bubble in the other tube, seen through the round 
hole toward the left end, tells us if the thing is exactly plumb, 
and if not, which way it must be moved to make it so. 

A cheaper form is the pocket level ; it is a small iron case 
containing the alcohol tube with bubble, and it has a screw 
on the side by which it can be fastened to the steel square 
blade about its center ; two little guards at each end rest on 
the edge of the square, and if care is used always to have 
them snug on the edge the pocket level may serve very well. 
The pocket level may be used to plumb with, by fastening it 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 23 

on the tongue of the steel square, and placing^ the edge of the 
blade against the object to be tested. 




Fig. 25. — Drawing Knife. 

The Drawing Ejote is a well-known tool. It is a blade 
with a handle at each end, and is used to roughly shave off 
surfaces, by drawing it toward the body. 

We have now enumerated the ordinary tools which when 
put away are placed in the front part of the chest. The back 
of the chest is occupied by the three trays which slide on 
hard wood ledges ; under these is the compartment for the 
stowing of the bead, rebate (rabbet), and match planes, the 
hollows, rounds and fillisters. These Httle planes, unlike the 
bench planes which discharge their shavings through a top 
opening, let their shavings pass out at the side, and have no 
top handles. 

The Rebate Plane is used for sinking rebates. The fillis- 
ter may be classed as a rebate plane. In fig. 26 is shown one 
with a stop and cutter ; the stop is the guard on the side, 
which is secured in its place in the side by a screw, and can 





Fig. 26.— Rehate Plane. Fig. 27.— A Rebate. 

be moved up and down by means of the slot in the guard ; it 
regulates the depth of the rebate , for of course when the iron 
has cut down the wood till the stop touches the top surface 
of the stuff it is prevented from cutting deeper. The cutter 
is a little knife-point just under the left end of the guard. As 
it runs before the cutting edge when the plane is in use, it 



t4 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 




Mg. 28. — Match Planes. 



prevents the iron from leaving a furry side to the cut. The 

piece below can be moved by means of the two slots, and set 

by the screws so as to regulate the width of the rebate. A 

common instance of rebating is in the jamb of the ordinary 

door frame to which the door is hinged, and into which it 

closes. 

The Match PiiANnes are in pairs, one makes the tongue, the 

other the groove, for what the joiner 
calls ' ' worked joints. " The ordinary 
floor plank, tongued and grooved, are 
examples of the work which a match 
plane does. We will generally find 
three pairs of match planes in the 
well-furnished chest, for %, %, and 
^ inch stuff. 
The Plow is a tool much used by the carpenter in shop 

work. It is used for making grooves of various widths and 

depths at various distances 

from the edge of the plank. 

The distance of the groove 

from the edge of the plank is 

regulated by the screw arms, 

by which the distance of the 

guard from the plow iron can 

be changed. The screw in 

the top raises or lowers a little 

iron plate just above the plow 

iron, by which the depth of 

the cut is regulated. Plow irons are of different widths, from 

one eighth to three quarters of an inch. 
Besides the planes we have mentioned there are the hollows 

and rounds for forming shapes, of which figs. 30 and 31 are 

Qjs^^ M sections. They are used in working out odd- 
1^ \ shaped moldiiig. The carpenter used also 
Fia 30 Fia 31 ^^ provided with a number of molding 

^* ' y- ' planes, but steam mills now work them so 
cheaply that the carpenter at present seldom needs them. 

Beads. — The sizes of the beads used by 
the carpenter vary by )^ of an inch from a 
plane which forms a bead an inch in width, 
to 3^ of an inch wide. When a bead is work- 
ed as shown by the dotted line, it is said to 
be "returned." The edges of window and 
door casings are often beaded ; as are also 




Fig. 29.— The Plow. 




r- — •' 



y 



Fig. 32.— Bead. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



26 



the joints of narrow boards in partitions, ceilings and wains- 
coatings. 

The Dado looks something like the rebate plane, but is 
used for cutting grooves across the stuff, and has a cutting 
point on either side in front of the iron. These points cut 

the fiber and prevent the iron from 
tearing the wood at the sides of the 
groove. The dado has also a stop 
to regulate the depth of the groove. 
A common instance of dadoing is 
the grooves cut in the upright to 
admit the shelves in store shelving. 
Sometimes in good houses a dado is 
cut in the floor all round the walls 
of the rooms, to admit a tongue on 
the bottom of the base boards ; in 
that case of course the shrinking of the base, by drawing up 
the tongue from the dado, leaves no unsightly open crack next 
the floor. To guide the dado, a light strip must be tacked 
down on the line of the intended groove. 

Patent Adjustable Dado, Fillester, Plow, &c. — This 
tool, represented in fig. 34, consists of two sections — a main 
stock, with two bars or arms, and a sliding section having its 




Fig. 33.— The Dado. 




Fig. 34. — Patent Adjustable Dado, Fillester, Plow, Sj-c. 

bottom or face level with that of the main stock. It can be 
used as a dado of any required width by inserting the bit into 
the main stock, and bringing the sliding section snugly up to 
edge of the bit. The two spurs, one on each section of the 



26 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



plane, will thus be brought exactly in front of the edges of 
the bit. The gauge on the sliding section will regulate the 
depth to which the tool will cut. By attaching a guard plate 
(which accompanies the plane) to the sliding section, the tool 
may be readily converted into a plow, a fillester, or a match- 
ing plane. 




Fig. 35. — Patent Adjustable Circular Plane. 

Patent Adjustable CiKCUiiAR Plane. — This plane, fig. 35, 
has a flexible steel face, and by means of the thumbscrews at 
each end of the stock, can be easily adapted to plane circular 
work, either concave or convex. 




Fig. 36. — Patent Combined Plow, Fillester and Matching Plane. 

Patent Combined Plow, Fillestek, and Matching Plane.— 
The tool which we show in fig. 36 embraces a combination of 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



27 



the common carpenters' plow, an adjustable fiUester, and a per- 
fect matching plane. The entire assortment, it is claimed, 
can be kept in smaller space, or made more portable than an 
ordinary carpenters' plow. Our engraving represents the 
stock of the tool adjusted for use as a plow. A metallic bed- 
piece, with 1 1^ inch cutter in it, can be attached to the stock 
of the tool by means of two screws passing through the slots 
in the base-piece of the stock. Over this bed piece the gauge 
or fence will move backward or foirward, and when secured 
to the bars by the thumb-screw, will constitute an adjustable 
fillester of any width required by the operator. The upright 
gauge on the back of the stock is adjusted by a thumb-screw, 
which regulates the depth for the use of the fillester, as for 
all the other tools embraced in the combination. 




Fig. 37. — Iron Jack Plane. 

Ieon Planes are being introduced, and the manufacturers 
claim that they are favorably received and having large sale. 
We show a sample, a jack plane, of this manufacture in fig. 
37. Fore planes, jointers, and the other varieties are also 
made. The advantages claimed for them are, beauty of style 
and finish, great convenience in operating, economy in use, 
and the fact that they are self-adjusting in every respect, and 
each part interchangeable. 

The trays of the tool chest contain a variety of articles ; the 
plow irons and bits for the stock are kept there ; also the 
chisels, of several of which we will speak. 




Fig. 38. — Socket Framing Chisel. 



28 



THE HOME MICHANIC. 



The Socket Fbamtng Chisel, for cutting mortises in heavy 
house framing timber, has a heavy blade ; the handle is set 
in a socket, and there is an iron ferrule or guard on the end 
to prevent the handle from being split by heavy blows. They 
are made of various widths, from 3^ to 3 inches. 



Fig. 39. — Socket Firmer Chisel. 

The Socket Fermeb Chisel has the handle set in a socket 
like the framing chisel, but has a lighter blade ; this chisel 
iS used with the mallet 




Fig. 40. — Shouldered Firmer Chisel. 

The Shouldeked Pibmee; Chisel is one of the most useful 
in shop work and house finishing ; it is set in a handle, and 
used by pressure of the hand. They are sold in assorted 
sizes of from ^■fjp2 inches in width of blade. There is also 
the paring chisel, a long, thin slim chisel for nice shop work. 




Fig. 41. — English Duck Bill. 

The Ekgmsh Duck Bill (mortise chisel) is designed for 
mortising framed work, but is little used now, as a good mor- 
tising machine, worked by the foot, costs but $20, and doee 
the work so much quicker and better that it soon pays for it- 
self where there is much framed work to do. 




Fig. 42. — Gouge. 

The Gouge is a curved chisel, shown in fig. 42. In figs. 40, 
41, and 42, we have shown the tools without handles as they 



THE HOME MECHANIC, 



29 



come from the store ; care must be taken in putting on the 
handles to have them straight. 

The Sceewdkiver is too well known to need description ; 
it is an indispensable tool to the carpenter. 

Tede DrvTDEES are often needed in the shop and in the 
building for laying off work, and also for scribing, which is 
drawing a line on the surface of a piece of stuff parallel to an 
irregular surface. It is done by the open compasses — allow- 
ing one leg of the dividers to follow the surface, while the 
point on the other leg can thus scratch on the board a repre- 
sentation of the uneven surface with all its ups and downs. 
If this drawing of the ups and down is then cut away the 
line left should fit close to the uneven surface. Scribing is 
much practiced in good housework, where tight joints are 
required on uneven surfaces. It is an advantage to have the 
dividers provided with a set screw which holds ;the points at 
the same exact distance from each other. 




Fig. 43. — Spoke Shave. 

Spoke Shaves are of wood or iron. We show an iron one 
in our drawing, with set screw. Spoke shaves are used for 
trimming round curved edges. 




Fig. U.— Hatchet. 

The Hatchet is a very useful tool to the carpenter, more 
especially about a building in the framing work and the 
shingling. 



30 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



THE CARPENTER'S SHOP. 



We have now enttmerated the -usual tools found in the tool 
chest ; with them most of the ordinary work done by the car- 
penter and joiner can be done. We will now look about the 
shop, and the first thing we notice is the work bench ; it is 
one of the most important of the implements in shop work. 
It will accommodate two workmen, and has a bench screw at 
each end, as shown in fig. 45. It is furnished with a vertical 




Mg. 45. — Carpenter's Bench. 

side board, in which are bored vertical ranges of holes to re- 
ceive the bench pin, whose use is to support one end of a 
piece of stuff on edge, while the other end is firmly held by 
the jaw of the bench screw. It will be better understood by 
a reference to our drawing. The bench is 12 feet long and 
3 feet wide ; the side board is 18 inches wide, and the center 
of the screw, the bottom of the jaw, and the upper inside 
corner should be on a line as shown by the dotted line on the 
drawing, then the jaw will hold narrow pieces of work tight ; 
they cannot " wobble, " which will be found a great advan- 
tage in sawing tenons on narrow rails, and other work. The 
jaw should be made of a piece of well seasoned 2 inch stuff ; 
screws are of wood or iron ; if of the former they need to be 
oiled at first, and afterward well rubbed with a piece of brown 
soap. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 31 

•i*he dotted lines across the bench show where the bearers 
are put in. The legs should be of 4 x 4 scanthng ; the top of 
1^ in. thick, tongued and grooved plank ; the sides and 
bearers of inch plank, all dressed off and well nailed. It will 
be found handy to have a "stow all" for small tools under 
the ends of the bench, where they may be laid away when 
not in actual use, as they are often inconveniently in the way 
on top of the bench when you have a large piece of work 
here, and are apt to be lost in the shavings if laid under the 
bench. 

At the top of the bench, near the edge about the bench 
screw, is the bench stop ; generally an old plane iron with 
the edge filed like saw teeth and screwed to the top, so that 
it can be raised or lowered. The object of this is to prevent 
the stuff from sKding off the bench when being planed up, 
while the other end is held tight by the bench knife, a piece 
of steel blade driven into top of bench and into the end of 
the stuff. The bench planes when not in use stand in a row 
at the end of the bench near the bench screw, the edges of 
the irons being protected from touching the top of the bench 
by a thin strip of wood. 

If we are cramped for room in the shop it Tvill be found 
very handy to have sHdes in the bench 1}>^ thick and 4 inches 
wide on edge, and as long as the bench is wide, two at each 
end as shown on our drawing, boxed in all round under the 
bench, and with holes inside so that they can be pushed out 
on either side ; then, if we have a little ripping to do we can 
lift the stuff from top of bench and saw a line without loss of 
time, by the aid of these slides. 

If we have no slides in our work bench we will recpiire a 
couple of saw benches ; and, indeed, when we go out to work 
about a building, we will require saw benches any way, as 
slides are only of use in shop work. A saw bench should be 

about 20 inches high and 
about 3 feet long. The top 
is made 2 x 4 or 4 x 4, from 
any scanthng which can 
be picked up about any 
building. A saw bench is 
represented in figure 46. 
Saw benches are constant- 
ly in use about a building, 
not only for sawing, but 
Fig. AQ.— Carpenter^ 8 Saw Bench, the sills, joists, scantlings. 




33 



THE HOME MECHANIC, 




Mg. 47. — Grind Stone Irons. 



&c ., are laid on them to be marked and cut. The saw benches 
also frequently answer in the building for a temporary work 
bench, with a plank or two laid upon them. 

The Gbindstone. — The grindstone is hung on a strong 
mortised and tenoned frame, with irons like these shown in 

fig. 57. The best stones 
are the Berea, which are 
quarried in Ohio ; they 
are sold by the pound. 
There is always a mortise 
through the center of ttie 
stone through which the 
iron crank is passed, and 
hard wood wedges are 
then made to fill in the 
space all round between the crank and the sides of the mor- 
tise in the stone, to test the hang of it. Before you drive 
the wedges up tight set it in the rollers and turn it, holding 
some object such as the end of a small stick of wood against 
the stone on the edge ; also against the side, regulating the 
wedges until the stone touches truly all round one turn. 
Make all tight and bring up the flanges against the stone. 
Place on rollers and the stone is ready for use. Be careful in 
grinding narrow irons on the stone not to wear hollows on the 
surface, but by changing from side to side you will be able to 
keep an even surface. 

The Hand Scbew. — This is a very 
handy tool about the shop, and is used 
for holding small pieces of wood together 
after being glued, and for various other 
purposes. 

The Doob Clamp is used for putting 
together pieces of framed work ; doors 
are put into this, glued and screwed up 
tight ; then the wedges dipped in glue are 
driven in along side of the tenons, making 
it all fast. We show a doer clamp in fig. 
49, on page 33. Fig. A8.—Hand Screw. 

The Gltje Pot is a double metal pot, 
generally iron, the outer pot being filled with water while the 
inner one contains the glue, which is thereby saved from 
burning. Glue should be soaked over-night with just enough 
water to soften it, and it is better that only as much be made 
at a time as can be used in 24 hours or thereabout. 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 



33 



The Miter Box is used for cutting a piece of stuff to a 
miter or an angle of 45 degrees with one of its sides. It is 
made as shown in fig. 50, which is on a scale of about 



TV°f 




Fig. 49. — Door Clamp. 

an inch to 1 inch. The bottom is of 2 inch plank, the sides 
of one inch, all planed up of even thickness, and straight and 
square on the edges. To make the lines for the cuts we 
square across the steel square from the point A to B, making 
a small mark with the knife at B ; then set off the width of 
the box, which in this instance is 5 inches, toward C ; now a 
line from A to C is a square miter or angle of 45 degrees. 

ELEVATION OF SIDE. 







END 



^ / 




^ 




y X 





PLAN. 

Fig. 50. — The Carpenter^s Mitev Box. 

Make with a knife square marks on the sides of the box from 
A and C, and with a sharp back saw cut these marks exactly. 
Proceed in the same way for the cut D B. A square cut at 
one end of the box should also be made. The box is now 
ready for use, and if it has been made exactly will make tight 
miters. The back saw runs in the saw cuts which it made at 
first. 



34 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



THE USE OF TOOLS. 



Having dewribed the tools of the carpenter, we "will no\T 
refer to the ordinary operations which he performs with them, 
namely, sawing, planing, dovetailing, mortising, and scribing. 

DOVETAILS. 

The manner of making dovetails is shown in fig. 51, which 
is the common dovetail joint, and is the strongest ; in it the 
dovetails show on both sides. There is the lapped dovetail, 
in which the dovetails show on only one side ; drawer fronts 

are lap-dovetailed to the sides. There 
is also the lapped and mitered dovetail, 
in which the dovetail is not seen at all, 
used for neat boxes, bnt not a strong 
joint. As making a dovetailed box will 
probably be one of the first neat jobs 
which the novice will attempt, it is well 
to describe it particularly. 

We first prepare our sides and ends. 
We will get them out in one long piece 
and cut them off afterward. If the piece 
of board has never been planed, we are 
of course to take off the "rough" with 
the jack plane, and then bring down 
straight and "out of wind" with the 
fore plane. Then turn on the edge and 
put into the bench screw, the other end 
supported on the bench pin, and joint the edge straight and 
square. 

Lay the board on the bench again and mark with the gauge 
the width — that is, the depth of your box ; — mark the edge 
from which you run the gauge with a lead-pencil cross. Al- 
ways remember in dressed work to gauge and square from the 
same edge every time, and that edge or square should always 
be marked when you first use it. Now put the board in the 
bench screw as before, and plane off down to the gauge mark, 
taking care to make the edge square ; of course it cannot but 
be straight if your marked edge be true. Ova: board has now 




li^ig. 51. — Dovetail. 



TH2 HOME MECHANIC. 



35 



one side and two edges dressed off. We now take the thick- 
ness gauge, and setting it at the desired thickness, run the 
gauge from the dressed side along the edges and across 
the ends, and laying the board on top of the bench, plane 
down to the gauge mark ; our stuff is then ready to cut up. 
Suppose our board to be y^ inch thick, and 8 inches wide, 
and that we want to make a box 7 in. wide and 10 in. long 
inside ; from the marked edge with the knife square across 
the face of the board at the end ; then with the rule set off 
11 inches, which allows one inch for the two thicknesses of 
the ends, and gives 10 inches clear inside ; square across the 
face of the board, and make another square mark about % 
inch further on ; then from this mark off another 11 inches ; 
then, leaving spaces of 3^ inch between, mark off two 8 inch 
lengths ; do all marking for saw cuts on particular work with 
a sharp pocket knife. Now, with a fine cross-cut saw cut off 
the sides and ends, cutting through exactly square in the 
spaces we left between the cuts ; when the sides and ends 
are cut, square the sawed ends carefully, placing them in the 
bench screw, and planing them true with the sharp smooth- 
ing plane, set very fine, and test them with the try square ; 
then with the thickness gauge, set as it was at first, mark all 
round each end of side and end pieces, sides as well as across 
edge. Now place one of the ends, the piece A, in the bench 
Bcrew, and with the knife mark off the dovetails, taking care 
to have them uniform in size and distance apart, and not too 
flaring, as the corners are apt to break off in that case when 
they are driven together. Square down to the guage mark 
with the try square, marking with the knife, and saw down 
these marks carefully with the back saw ; do the same with 
the four corners of the ends. 

Now lay down the sides and ends on the bench, like fig. 52, 
the marked edges all outward, and mark the comers that are 
to go together with the same figures. 
Then mark out the dovetails by the 
pins, by placing the pins on the side 
to which they are finally to be attach- 
ed, with the inside of the pins on the 
gauge mark, and marking out shape 
of pins with an old file ground to a 
point, or any other marker. This 
will be understood by looking at the ^^ ^2.— Marked Board. 
irawing, fig. 52. Supposing the holes 
fco admit the pins had not been cut in the piece A, we would 



,-nnjTr 
/ 

_ 2 

^JLOSl 



mnrz, 
3 

LTzjuir 



36 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



place the pins in B against the end of A, mark cut their form, 
cut the marks down to the gauge line, which is as we have 
seen the length of the pins — for did we not at the first mark 
all the ends with the same gauge ? — then, when with a fine 
chisel we have carefully cut out the spaces in A, as shown, 
the pins of B ^nll exactly fit in between the dovetails of A. 

When aU the corners are cut we put glue on the pins and 
drive the box together ; and if all the cutting has been done true 
and square, we shaU have a neat job, and after it has stood an 
hour or two for the glue to set, we can put in the bottom, 
clean off the glue by planing the outside, hang the lid, &c. 

TO MAKE A DOOE. 

We will now describe the making of a door, and as that in- 
cludes the making of mortises and tenons, plowing, &c., this 
description will answer for an explanation of these operations. 
When we go to measure any opening for a piece of work, it is 
better to take a planed strip, say of 1 in. square, by which we 
wiU get the hight and width of any space exactly ; for remem' 



Bottom Rail. Lower Panel. Lock Rail. 



U-pper Panel. 



Top Rail. 



Stile. Panel. Muntin. Panel, Stile. 



Fig. 53.— The Rod Laid Off. 







STILE 




J u 1 


Mil 


rH 


1 i 

1 — i 
BOTTOM RAIL 


PANEL 


r— 
O 

o 

> 




H 
O 

•-> 

r 


MUNTIN 


MUNTIN 


PANEL 




ST 


LE 



Mg. 54. — The Door Beady to Drive Together. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 37 

ber, mistakes of figures are always possible in measuring a 
large space with a two foot rule. 

We find our space is 3 ft. wide and 8 ft. high. The first 
thing to do is to lay off the rod, which we do on the bench ; 
the same rod with which we took the measure will do. In 
fig. 53 we show the rod laid off. That it may be better under- 
stood we have placed directly under the rod the door all 
ready to drive together with the name of the different parts 
on it. 

The upper rod is the rod for the hight ; this we know is 8 
ft. ; we mark off from the bottom the width of the bottom 
rail 9 inches. The top of the lock rail is 2 ft. 10 in. from the 
floor. We set off that distance from lower end of rod, and 
from it set off the width of the lock rail toward the floor ; 
then from the top set down width of top rail 5 inches. The 
other marks inside the others are the depth of the plowing 
for the panels which is shown in the section, fig. 55, page 38. 
The single marks across the rails indicate the width of the 
tenons and mortises ; for wide pieces of wood like the lock 
and bottom rails, there should be a double mortise and tenon, 
as shown in fig. 56, page 39. 

The Tvidth of the door, 3 ft. , is laid out on one end of the 
rod, as shown under the drawing of the hight rod. We hope 
these rods will be understood, as the door itself is just below 
the hight rod, and the parts corresponding are marked. 
Measure the door and rod for yourself ; each thirty-second of an 
inch represents about an inch ; the grooves plowed in the stiles 
and rails to hold the panels are 3^ in. wide and ^ in. deep. 
Be careful always to lay down the depth of your plowing on 
the rod, the exact position of the mortises depending on the 
length and width of panels. Always be sure you are right in 
lengths and width before you cut out your stuff. Lai/ out aU 
framed work on a rod the first thing. 

Having got everything right on the rod, we take the cross 
cut and rip saw, square and chalk line, together with the rod, 
to the plank pile, and selecting a good 1^ in. plank cut out 
two pieces for stiles, 8 ft. 4 in. long, and 53^ in. wide ; one 
piece of same width, 3 ft. 1 in. long ; one 8^ wide, and one 
93^ wide, both 3 ft. 1 in. long, for top, bottom and lock 
rails ; also pieces for muntins, taking care to saw square and 
straight, or we will find when we have planed one edge 
straight, perhaps the piece will not hold out the width. Now 
pick out a good }£ ^' piece of stuff for the panels 113^ wide, 
two of them 18 in. longj two of them 4 ft. 10 in. long. This 



38 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

is all the material we require. To dress it up, plane off one 
side of the stile true and out of wind, and straighten one 
edge, making it perfectly square ; now set two gauges, one at 
1^ in. for the thickness, the other at 5 inches for the width 
of stiles, muntins and top rail, and di-ess uj) the stiles, rails 
and muntins, according to widths given on the rod, taking 
care to mark the first face and edge planed up with a lead 
pencil cross, so that we may know it again. The preparation 
of panels need hardly be described. 

Our door frame is now ready to mark out. Lay the first 
stile on the bench marked side up, and marked edge toward 



' siTti^Ec !;; :;:! cr: : -M"NTiN .c : - ^ stile 

Fig. 55. — Section of Door. 

you ; place the other stile on it marked face down, marked 
edge toward you ; now lay the rod on top of them in such a 
position that the mark on each end shall be within the end 
of stile about an inch, and with the try or steel square Care- 
fully mark down the marks on the rod. The muntins you 
will see the length of on the rod, and mark it on them 
by placing the rod on each ; the rails of course will be 
marked by the laying out of width of floor on the other edge 
of rod ; where mortises go clear through, as in stiles, mark 
square across face of stile, and down on edge to find out 
where the mortise comes through and allow ^ in. at each end 
ior width of wedge. 

Our frame is now dressed and marked and is ready to mor- 
tise and tenon. Set the head of the mortise gauge so that 
the point nearest the end shall be 1^ inches from it and screw 
fast. By screw at end open out distance between points till 
they are half an inch apart, which is to be the width of our 
mortise, the thickness of our tenon. It is best to set the 
width by the mortise chisel putting it between the points, as 
chisels often vary a little in size. Mark with the mortise 
chisel the stiles and rails at the mortise marks on both sides, 
always marking from marked edge, as shown in fig. 56. Mark 
across ends of all rails and muntins, and as far down on the 
edges as the double marks. 

If we have no mortising machine in the shop we must make 
the mortises with our half inch English duck bill, shown in 
fig. 41, mortising carefully half way through from each side, 
holding chisel square so that the hole from both edges may 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



39 



meet exactly in tlie center of the stile, the manner of making 
the mortises will be understood frcm fig. 66. To form the 
tenons put the rails or tenon in the bench screw, end sticking 
up at a convenient hight and rip down on the outside of mor- 
tise gauge marks but touching them. In this ripping of ten- 
ons we will find out how important it is to hold our rip saw 




Fig. 56. — Mortises, Tenons and Wedge. 



in the right way ; keep exactly in the line both edges, and 
saw down true. A tenon should fit a mortise snugly, but yet 
not fill it so tightly as to require hard driving to send it up. 
Our mortises and tenons being all cut, we nextplowthe edges 
of the stiles, rails and muntins to receive the panels. Suppose 
we commence with a stile ; we will only have to plow one 
edge of that, while both edges of the lock, rail and muntins 
have to be planed. Put the stile in the bench screw, one end 
supported on the bench pin, the other end firmly held in the 
bench screw, the marked face toward you, the marked edge 
up. Put the half inch ii'on in the plow ; set it so that the 
fence is % inch from the iron, and set the stop by the top 
screw, so that it is % in. above the edge of the iron, Plow 
carefully, holding the plow square and true. When we have 
the stiles, rails and muntins plowed, we can cut the shoulders 
of tenons. The line A B, in fig. 66, is the shoulder of a 
tenon. We cut them with a sharp back saw, as they lie on 
top of the bench. The space between the bottom of the 
tenon and the bottom edge of the rail is called the relish ; the 
wedges, as shown in fig. 66, are generally cut from the relishes 
of the different rails. When the shoulders are cut, the plow- 
ing done, the mortises cleaned out, and the tenons have the 
relishes cut, the door is ready to put together. Put in the 
panels, and lay it in the door clamps, fig. 49. page 33 ; two 



40 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

of them will do, laid across top of bench. Let the clamps be 
an inch or two inside of the top and bottom rails ; protect the 
outside edges of the stiles from injury by pieces of wood be- 
tween the edge and the clamp, as they would be otherwise 
bruised. Before screwing the door up in the clamps, while 
the tenons all round are still two or three inches out of the 
mortices, brush across each tenon, on both sides, a little glue; 
drive up the stiles with the mallet, protecting the stile from 
bruising by a piece of wood held against it, getting the door 
into the clamps and screwod up as soon as possible ; for the 
glue, especially in cold weather, sets very soon, and then it is 
hard to clamp up to a tight joint. When you are gluing up a 
door, your partner on the other side of the bench generally 
helps you, as the clamps and door occupy the whole of the 
top of the bench, and as he can glue the tenons on one side 
before the door is clamped up, that operation only takes half 
the time. 

Now that our door is in the clamps and the shoulders all 
right, we want to keep them so, and dipping wedges in glue, 
we drive one in each edge of the tenon, which, as the glue 
sets, makes it impossible for the tenon to be withdrawn. The 
door may now be taken from the clamps, the ends of the 
wedges and tenons sawed off, and /pouring a drop or two of 
oil in the face of the smooth plane to prevent the glue, if still 
damp, from sticking to the plane) the door may be "cleaned 
off," and the moldings cut in. To do this we use the miter 
box, marking the moldings by laying them right on the door, 
and making little nicks in their back edge with a knife ; then 
by placing those nicks carefully beside the saw-cuts on one 
side of the box, holding the molding snugly against that side 
and sawing them there we will get pieces of the right length 
and have tight miters. 

Our door is now made and is ready to be fitted in the open- 
ing, and hung with bits. A good workman used to make 
such a door in a day, but doors are made so much more 
cheaply by the steam shops than they can be by hand, that 
doors of regular sizes are now hardly ever made in the ordi- 
nary shops ; still, the above description of door making will 
be applicable to all sorts of framed work. 

To avoid mistakes in the first attempts at framed work 
always remember that you must mark the side and edge first 
planed and jointed, always square, and run the gauge from 
that side and edge. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



4( 



JOINTING. 

The joints commonly made by the carpenter are the square 
joint ; the matched or tongued and grooved joint ; the slip 
tongue joint, and the rebated joint, The square joint is used 

SQUARE. MATCHED. SLIP-TONGUK. REBATE. 



E3 



Fig. 57. — The Various Kinds of Joints. 

for glue joints, and if made in seasoned stuff and kept dry is 
very strong. 

A common sample of the matched or tongued and grooved 
joint is given in jlooring. In ceiling boards and wainscoating 
it is usual to run a small bead on the joint, as shown on lower 
side ; that is, in the tongue edge ; the object of this is, that 
if the boards shrink slightly, a small opening may not be 
much noticed. This joint is worked with the matched planes 
which must be held square to obtain a tight joint on both 
sides. 

The slip tongue joint is generally used for thick stuff, both 
edges are plowed, and a thin strip fills the space and holds 
the pieces together. 

The rebated joint is rarely used for fastening stuff together, 
but is employed on th^^ meeting joint in double doors. Closetiy 
and folding doors offer familiar illustrations of this joint. 

SCEIBING. 

This operation is clearly shown in our sketch, fig. 58, It is 
performed by means of the compasses which (the stuff to be 
scribed being conveniently fastened) are opened to the great- 




Fig. 58. — Scribing. 



42 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



est distance between the edge of the stufif, and the irregular 
surface it is intended to fit ; then the compasses are drawn 
along over the irregular surface, and while one j^oint touches 
that surface all the way along, the other point describes on 
the stuff an exact profile of the irregular surface. If this is 
carefully cut away the stuff will fit tight over that surface. 

When a number of boards are secured together by cross 
pieces or ledges screwed or nailed on, they are said to be bat- 
tened, as the door in fig. 59. To make a 
door like this is easy. Take such a number 
of planks or boards, of right length, as will 
make a door of the width you want. Floor 
planks with tongue and gToove on are good, 
and if you want to make a fair door you 
should plane off the back side and run a 
3^ in. bead on the joints, (as shown on the 
joint, fig. 57,) on both sides of the plank. 

Always remember when running a bead 
on anything, to take off the outer corner 
with the small hollow. If you have door 
clamps you can put your batten door to- 
gether wdth them on the bench, if not the 
floor will answer ; tack down on the floor, 
at a distance an inch or two further apart 
than the width of the door, two strips and 
lay the boards for the door between them, 
driving them up, outside face down, the ends square with each 
other ; tighten up the whole with wedges driven in between 
the strip on one side and the door ; then nail or screw on the 
battens, and the door is ready to fit and hang. 



Fig. 59. — Battens. 



The Oil Stone and its Use. — The best stone comes from 
Hot Springs County, Arkansas, is creamy in color, and for 
the carpenter's use is sawed up into slabs of about an inch in 
thickness, 8 inches in length and two in width. We must 
put our oil stone in a neat box, projecting above the box, with 
a removable cover to keep off the dust. To use the oil stone 
we drop a few drops of oil on it from the little oil can, and 
rub the plane iron, or whatever we desire to sharpen, holding- 
it so that the bevel of the edge may be but slightly less than 
that given by the grindstone. Of course, after repeated rub- 
bing on the oil stone the bevel is shortened, a thin edge can 
no longer be rubbed up on the oil stone, and we have to re- 
store the long bevel on the grindstone. The best sort of oil 



TH ■: HOME MECHANIC. 43 

to Tise on the oil stone is sperm, although sweet oil and lard 
oil are nearly as good, but in cold weather they congeal and 
won't drop from the can. After nsing, the oil should be care- 
fully wiped from the oil stone, and the lid put on, for the old 
oil when left on the stone gums and cakes on it, and makes it 
harder, while a rub off after every using keeps the stone in 
good cutting order . Oil stones are apt to wear hollow, that 
is, lower in the center than at the ends. To bring them 
straight, take a handful of fine white sand and wet it with 
water on a flat stone, brick or piece of plank, on which rub 
the stone with the face down, and a little time will bring the 
surface up straight, and as good as new. An oil stone iu or- 
dinary use will not require such treatment more than once or 
twice a year. Besides the ordinary bench oil stone we find a 
number of narrow short sUps of various thickness and various 
shaped edges ; these are called slip stones, and are used for 
sharpening the irons of the beads and molding planes, which 
can not be reached by the above-described oil stone. 

The Rule. — The carpenter's two foot rule is a measure of 
24 inches in length, and in four folds of six inches each, al- 
most always made of boxwood, and all the better for being 
bound with brass, on account of the edges not wearing 
so soon, and it not being so liable to be broken. We gener- 
ally carry the rule in our pocket, but as it is heavy and the 
corners are sharp it is destructive to ordinary pockets, we 
have a pocket made in the pants just back of the left hip, the 
width of the rule and 5)^ inches deep, so that half an inch 
projecting from the pocket enables us to easily pull it out. By 
getting into the habit of returning the rule to the pocket after 
using we vnll be saved the loss of a great deal of time in hunt- 
ing for it. It will be seen that on the outer edges the inches 
marked on the rule are divided into eighths, while in the 
inner edges the eighths are divided once more, making six- 
teen divisions of the inch. On the other side iu some rules 
the inches are divided into ten and twelve parts. This is to 
enable us to measure architects' drawings of work, as they 
are often made in such a way that a tenth or a twelfth of an 
inch on the drawing represents an inch in the work to be pre- 
pared. 



44 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



BUILDERS' HARDWARE. 



We will describe some of the ordinary hardware used in 
house building, which will make clear to the inexperienced 
reader many of the terms which he may come across in archi- 
tects' specifications and descriptions of buildings : 

Nails are of great variety and size, the most common used 
about the framing are the tenpenny " big heads," 3 in. long, 
so called because the head projects over side and edges. In 
the finishing nail the head projects but little over the edge ; 
these nails are made with such small heads that the head of 
the nail may be driven below the surface of the wood with 
the nail set without splitting the wood as the big head would 
do. This is required in work where the nail holes are to be 
puttied up and the work to be painted. 

Nails were formerly made by hand, and sold by the hun- 
dred, the smallest at threepence per 100, and from that price 
up to six, eight, ten and even fifty pence per hundred. The 
ordinary kinds are all now cut or stamped out, but the old 
names of sixpenny and tenpenny still stick to them as handy 
designations. 

The Clout Natl is one which is made of malleable iron 
(iron deprived of its carbon by a peculiar process, and there- 
fore not like the ordinary cut nail), has a large head project- 
ing all round, and is driven completely through the stuff so 
that the end of the nail can be turned with the hammer, when 
it is said to be "clinched." Batten doors are common in- 
stances of this style of naihng. The clout nail is also called 
the " wrought nail," and the "clinch nail," and there may be 
some slight difference in the shapes of the head. They are 
all intended as clinching nails. 

Brads are made of various sizes, from ^ to 2 inches in 
length, and are used for tacking the moldings in the panels 
of doors, and nailing up other thin material. Of course they 
must be driven with flat side parallel to the grain of the wood. 
They are also called "finishing nails" and " spriggs." 

In white pine it is hardly ever necessary, if you know how 
to drive a nail, to bore a hole for it, as a properly driven nail 
cannot spht the stuff ; but in hard wood, as oak, mahogany 
or walnut, especially if it be dry and well seasoned, there is 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 45 

great danger, and holes should be carefully bored with the 
brad iron, or with some of the small bits in the brace. 

Screws are made of great variety ; the kind most used by 
the carpenter are the gimlet points of from 3^ to 2 in. and 
more in length. They are distinguished from each other by 
their length and thickness through the body — that is, the % 
in. screw of one number will be delicate and threadlike, whQe 
the % in. screw of another number will be stout, with a head 
almost half an inch across. 

Screws are made in the United States by two or three large 
companies, and as the business is somewhat of a monopoly 
screws are rather dear ; but the "patent gimlet-point screw," 
which has been introduced during the last twenty years, is a 
great improvement over the blunt end screw, for which an 
exact hole had to be carefully bored with a gimlet ; whereas 
now the gimlet point draws the screw down itseK, and in pine 
or any soft wood no bored hole is required, 

Fbame PunLEYS. — These are the little iron wheels inserted 
in the upper end of the pulley stile in the window frame, over 
which runs the cord which holds up the sash weight, an iron 
weight which runs up and down in a box inside of the frame. 
The weight of the sash is counter balanced by two sash weights, 
each weighing half as many pounds as the sash itself. 

Frames hung with cords, pulleys and weights are said to be 
box frames, on account of the boxes at the side in which the 
weights run. When both top and bottom sashes have cords, 
weights and pulleys, the window sash is said to be double 
hung. 

Sash Fasteners. — Of these there are a great variety ; simi- 
lar in this, that one piece is fastened to the bottom rail of the 
top sash inside of glass, while the other piece fastens to top 
edge of top rail in lower sash. When the sashes are closed 
the spring catch can be secured over the plate on the uppei 
sash, and the sash cannot be opened from the outside. Be' 
sides the protection which the sash fastener gives from the 
attempts of small thieves, who are afraid to break a glass or 
burst in a door, it also prevents that rattling of the sashes in 
the frames, which is often so disagreeable on a windy night. 

We will now look at the various kinds of hinges that the 
carpenter uses to hang doors, &c. 

Hinges. — ^Fig. 60 shows what is known as a narrow fast huit; 
we see it is narrow, but why fast? Because the two plates of 
the hinge will not come apart ; they are riveted together. And 
why a butt ? Because it is put on the edge of the door, or the 



46 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



part which butts against the casing, and not on the face, as 
blind hinges and other wrought-iron hinges are in common 
^ -^^ ,P^ work sometimes. Fig. 61 is a loose butt; we see 
H HlPlli ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ hand half can be lifted off the right 
hand. These hinges are said to be right and 
left; we see that the hinge below, (fig. 61,) is a 
right hand hinge ; that is, it is only possible 
to use it on a door which opens from you to the 
right. A little study of this hinge will demon- 
strate that fact. On this account, unless care 
be taken we are very liable to make mistakes in 
ordering our butts, which would, of course, be 
exceedingly annoying. 
The National Butt. — This is a butt which is growing into 
favor. It has all the advantages of the loose butt, while it 




Fig. eO.—Nar- 
row Fast Butt. 





Fig. 61.— The Loose Butt. 



Fig. 62.— The National Butt. 



can be used for doors of either hand ; for it will be seen by 
looking at it that it matters not which side of the hinge is 
attached to the door, so that the head of the pin is kept up. 




Fig. 63. — Rolled Plate Hinge. Fig. 64. — Rolled Baised Hinge. 

There are other butts and hinges of various kinds and 
names, which it is unnecessary to describe here. We will 
only show a few of the wrought iron hinges. 

Fig. 63 shows the rolled plate hinge for heavy doors, such 
as stables, bams, &c 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



47 



Fig. 64 shows the rolled raised hinge; this is intended for 
heavy doors which set back below the face of a brick wall. 
We can see that when this door is opened it will be thrown 
off, so that it can be opened out flat against the wall. The 
same idea is shown in these blind hinges, figs. 65 and 66. 




Figs. 65 and 66. — Blind Hinges. 



Fig. 67.— "T^ Hinge. 



The one represented in fig. 66 is intended for blinds hung to 
window frames in brick walls ; a look at the next window 
shutter you see in a brick wall will show you that if the hinge 
was not raised it could not open round against the brick. 

These blind hinges are made to run in the stiles and rails 
of slat blinds to keep therii square. The stiles and rails 
are so narrow that the mortises and tenons have not much 
strength, and the hinge is made so as to strengthen them. 

Fig. 67 shows the T hinge, so called from its shape. 

Fig. 68 represents a strap hinge. 




Fig. 68. — The Strap Hinge. 

The Thumb Latch is familiar to aU of us ; it is, after the 
ordinary button, one of the simplest of door fastenings. 

Locks, — Of these there are a great variety. That called a 
rim lock is so named because it is put on the rim of the door. 
Rim locks are made right and left, that they may be used on 
doors opening either to the right or left without turning the 
lock (and keyhole) upside down. 

The iron catch in the door casing which holds the lock bolt 
and latch is called the nosing. 

A MoBTisE Lock, as its name implies, is one which is mor- 
tised into the thickness of the door. The furniture of the lock 



48 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

are : the knobs ; the roses, which surround the holes through 
which the knob shaft turns ; and the escutcheon and drop, the 
former surrounding, the latter covering, the key hole. The 
furniture is made of a great variety of material — wood, por- 
celain, brass, bronze, ebony, ivory, glass, &c. The variety 
of locks now manufactured is almost infinite. 

Among bolts we may mention the barrel boll, which is fas- 
tened to the door without mortising ; the mortise bolt, to be 
inserted in thickness of the door, a plate being let into the 
door frame to receive bolt ; the Jiush bolt, to let into the edge 
of the door flush with the surface. It is often used in folding 
doors and neat double doors in closets, &c. 



DRAWING FOR CAEPENTERS. 



In this part of our little book it has seemed best %o say a 
few words about drawing, as some knowledge of it is abso- 
lutely necessary to a good mechanic. The beginner must 
understand, however, that if he wants to become a thorough 
draughtsman and architect, he should get some good work on 
geometry and industriously study it. We propose to give here 
such instructions as will serve a good workman under ordinary 
circumstances. 

The Dkawing Boahd. — This should be a perfectly square 
and true board ; 1}£ in. thick, 23x31 in., is a good size. It 
should be of well seasoned white pine, and should have no 
clamps across the ends, because even the best seasoned will 
swell and shrink with the change from dry to wet weather, 
and if the clamps project a hair's breadth beyond the edge 
they throw off the square considerably on the other side of 
the board. The drawing paper is fastened on to the board 
either by wetting it and. pasting it down at the edges, when 
it assumes a tight surface when dry, or it is secured at the 
comers by drawing pins — small brass tacks with large flat, 
thin heads. 

The T Squake is of two kinds ; one with fi:xed head, the 
other with a shifting head. The latter can be used both as a 
square and bevel. T squares should of course be perfectly 
square ; blade 2}4 iii- wide, and a little over l-16th thick. 
The length of course varies ; 36 inches is a convenient length. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. ^g 

Drawing Instbuments. — The beginner does not want 
many instruments ; indeed, notwithstanding the large showy 
boxes offered to you by instrument makers, all you will be 
hkely to want, at least at first, (and if you know how to use 
them, you can make as neat a drawing as any one) are the 
following : A pair of plain dividers with fine points ; a pair 
of compasses with fixed needle point, pen, pencil and length- 
ening bar ; a pair of spring compasses for very small circle. 

pENCHiS. — The No. 4 Faber pencil is a good one for making 
neat drawings which are to be inked in ; for making working 
drawings on thick paper, a No. 2 pencil will be better. 

"Where lines are to be inked in, of course it is desirable to 
have them as Hght and delicate as possible ; a little practice 
and steady hand will secure a proper touch. A pencil need 
not be held tightly ; a slight hold, without slackness, is what 
is wanted, inclining a Httle to the side toward which the line 
is drawn. In prepartions for a drawing to be inked in, no 
more lines should be made on the paper than are absolutely 
necessary to complete it ; they should also be very light. 

Circles and arcs should, in general, be inked in before 
straight lines, as the straight lines can be more easily drawn 
to join the circles than the circles to join the lines. When 
a number of circles are to be inked from one center, the 
smaller should be inked first, while the center is in better 
condition. 

India rubber is the ordinary means of correcting errors in 
penciling ; where only a sUght mistake is to be corrected it 
is quite suitable, but repeated application of it raises the 
surface of the paper and imparts a greasiness to it which 
spoils it for fijie drawing, especially if ink shading or coloring 
is to be applied. It is much better to leave trivial errors in 
pencil alone, if correction can be made with the pencil along- 
side without confusion ; as, in such a case, it is enough to 
clear away superfluous lines when the inking is finished. 

For cleaning a drawing, the inside soft part of a piece of 
bread two days old is preferable to india rubber, as it cleans 
the surface well and does not injure it. 

In drawings intended to be highly finished particular pains 
should be taken to avoid the necessity for corrections, as 
everything of this kind detracts from the appearance. 

In using the T square, the more convenient way is to draw 
the lines off the left edge, with the right hand, with the left 
hand holding the stock steadily but not very tightly against 
the edge of th^ board. 



50 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

To draw lines in ink with the least amount of trouble to 
himself, the draughtsman ought to take the greater amount 
of trouble with his tools. If they be well made, and of good 
stuff originally, they ought to last fifty years. Their working 
parts should be carefully preserved from injury ; they should 
be kept well set, and above all scrupulously clean. The set- 
ting of instruments is a matter of some nicety, for which pur- 
pose a small oil stone is convenient. To dress up the tips of 
the pens, or of the bows (as they are usually worn unequally 
by the customary usage), they may be screwed up into con- 
tact in the first place, and passed along the stone, turning 
upon the point in a perfectly perpendicular plane, till they 
acquire a shape exactly alike. Being next unscrewed and ex- 
amined to ascertain the parts of unequal thickness round the 
nib, the blades are opened and laid on their backs on the 
stone, and rubbed at the points till they are brought to an 
edge of uniform fineness. It is well to screw them together 
again, and pass them over the stone once or twice more, to 
bring up any fault ; to retouch them also on the outer and 
inner side of each blade, to remove barbs or frasing ; and, 
finally, to draw them across the'palm of the hand. 

The China or India ink, which is commonly used for line 
drawings ought to be rubbed down in water to make the ink 
just so thick as to run freely from the pen, avoiding the 
sloppy aspect of light lines in drawing. This medium degree 
may be judged of after a little practice by the appearance of 
the ink on the dish. It is well to keep the dish covered by 
an ordinary piece of window glass, which will prevent its 
evaporating in a few hours, as it will in summer time. The 
best ink has a soft feel, free from grit or sediment when wet 
and rubbed against the teeth, and it has a musky smell. The 
rubbing of India ink in water tends to crack and break away 
the surface at the point. This may be prevented by shifting 
at intervals the position of the stick in the hand while being 
rubbed, and thus rounding the surface. Nor is it advisable 
to bear very hard, as the mixture is otherwise more evenly 
made. The pen should be leveled in the ink to take up a 
sufficient charge ; and to induce the ink to enter the pen 
freely, the blades should be slightly breathed upon or wet 
before immersion. After each application of ink, the out- 
sides of the blades should be cleaned, to prevent any deposit 
of ink on the edge of the square. 

To keep the blades of the inkers clean is the first duty of a 
draughtsman who is to make a good piece of work. Pieces 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 51 

of blotting paper, cotton velvet, wash leather, or even the 
sleeve of a coat, should always be at hand when a drawing is 
being inked in. Wlien a small piece of blotting paper is fold- 
ed twice so as to present a corner, it may be usefully passed 
between the blades of a pen now and then, as the ink is liable 
to deposit at the point, and obstruct the passage, particularly 
in fine lining ; and for this purpose the blades must be par- 
tially unscrewed to admit the paper. But this process may be 
delayed by drawing the point of the pen over a piece of vel- 
vet, or even over a piece of thick blotting paper ; either way 
clears the point for a time. As soon as any obstruction takes 
place the pen should be immediately cleaned, as the trouble 
thus taken will always improve the work. If occasion arises 
to lay the pen down temporarily with the ink in, it should be 
unscrewed slightly to keep the points apart and to prevent 
deposit ; and when through with, the pen should be thoroughly 
cleaned at the nibs, to preserve its edges and prevent rust. 

ScaijE Drawings. — In the erection of buildings of any size 
it is customary to make scale drawings of the building and of 
the different parts. These are generally prepared by an arch- 
itect, but in doing any piece of work it is frequently desirable 
to make a drawing of it, and a good mechanic should be able 
to do this readily ; in other words he should be a good linear 
draughtsman. Linear drawing is a practical apxolication of 
the principles of elementary geometry, and to any young man 
who wants to know more than the average run of good me- 
chanics, we can give no better advice th&n to employ the leis- 
ure of evenings and other times in posting himself in the 
knowledge of plane and descriptive geometry, which will 
be certain to prove valuable. The proper construction of 
stairs and twisting hand rails involves an acquaintance with 
the sections of the cylinder. A little determined application 
will master these things, and their possession will be price- 
less. The evenings during one year resolutely applied to 
study will enable you to gain as much of th em as is necessary. 
Of course, in the limits of a small book like this, it will be im- 
possible to do more than give a general idea of such matters, 
but the beginner at the trade is earnestly advised to study. 

As a practical exercise we will now go through all the de- 
tails of preparing drawings and specifications of a box house, 
18 ft. long, 12 ft. wide, and 10 ft. high to the eaves. 

When doing any particular work on the bench it is often 
necessary to make a full size drawing of it, to refer to while 
the work is going on ; but where the object to be represented 



52 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



is a large one we make what is called a scale drawing ; that is, 
on the di-awing a certain measure will represent a certain 
larger one in the real object ; for instance, in a drawing of 
the scale of three-fourths of an inch to the foot, every ^ of 
an inch measured by your rule represents 12 inches in reality, 
and as there are twelve-sixteenths of an inch ir ^ of an inch 
every sixteenth on the drawing represents p,n actual inch. 
This makes the scale of ^ of an inch a convenient one to 
make drawings by. 

It must be remembered that an architectural drawing is 
projected; it does not look on the paper as it would look in re- 
ality. On such drawings every part has its true size which can 
also be measured by a rule ; in reality we all know that a 
small object near the eye looks much larger than one further 
off, although the more distant one may be very much larger. 
To make our meaning plainer we show, in fig. 69, a repre- 
sentation of a block 3 inches long, % in. 
thick, and 1 inch wide. This shows the 
block as it actually appears held up near 
the eye ; and although this is the real ap- 
pearance of the block, there is no line on 
which we could put our rule and obtain 
„. ^^ „ ,. the true dimensions by which to make a 

Fig. 69.^Per8pectzve. ^^^^^ ^^^ -^ ^^ ^^^ ^ drawing which 

can be worked after, we must represent it with all the lines 
of the actual size as in the different views given in figs. 70, 71 
and 72. By the "front elevation" we learn the width and the 
hight ; the "side elevation" shows the length and hight ; the 




Fig. 70. — Side Elevation. 



Fig. 71. — Front Elevation. 




Fig. 72.— Plan. 

"plan" shows the length and width. This looks to be a very 
simple thing, but when you can make a front elevction, plan 
and section of a building, or piece of work correctly, you will 
be a good linear draughtsman. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



53 



The house which we show below is 28 ft. long, 12 ft. wide, 
and 10 ft. high to eaves from floor inside. It is such a one 





Fig. 73. — Front Elevation. 



Fig. 74. — Side Elevation 



as a man could put up himself in a few days with very little 
help, and without the assistance of the architect. It will an- 
swer to live in for a few months, and when we are able to put 
up a larger house it will answer very well for a kitchen. As 
our drawing is too small a scale to work from, suppose we lay it 
out on a smoothly planed board on a scale of ^ of an inch to 
1 foot. It will then take 21 in. to represent this house in 
length, and 9 in. will represent the width of the building. It 
is weU to make the "plan" on the 
lower part of our drawing board, and 
lay off the doors and mndows on it 
first, in their proper places ; then 
they can be easily transferred by the 
T square to the "elevation" above. 
In this plaD we place a door 3 feet 
from the front right hand comer, and 
a window 3 feet from the left hand 
corner ; also a window in the left 
hand side of the house, and a door 
and window in the back of the house 
the same as in front. In drawings, doors, when they are out- 
side ones, are usually represented with the outside line of the 
house across the door openings, as in our drawing ; when the 
doors are inside ones, in partitions, &c. , there should be no 
line drawn across them. In drawing windows always show a 



] 



-P^l- 



Fig. 7S.—STcetcJi of Plan. 



54 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



double line to represent the sash across the opening, as in 
this plan. 

We show the steps at the front door on our drawing, but 
not at the back door on plan ; they can be seen on side ele- 
vation. 

We think the operation of making this drawing will be 
easily understood. Every line in it which is parallel with the 
edge of the drawing board toward us, is made byhning along 




Fig. 76.— Plan of First Story. 

the T square blade with the stock pressed against the left 
hand edge of the drawing board, and of course the lines square 
with them, are made with the stock of the T square against 
the nearest edge of the drawing board. In arranging the 
drawing table have the light come from the left hand ; in that 
case you need not line in the shadow of the T square blade 
as you will if light comes from the right. ' 

Having arranged the plan of our house we draw a ground 
line a little above it, and with the T square stock pressed to 
the lower edge by lining up along the blade we can transfer 
the positions of the doors, windows and other parts above the 
ground line, so as to form the elevation. The door is 8 feet 
high from the floor, and we make the tops of our windows 
correspond with it ; and as they are 12 light windows with 
10x16 glass, as the opening for that size glass is 5 ft 10 in 
high, we find it brings the sills 2 ft. 2 in. from the floor. 

In our drawing the top of the floor, shown by door sill is 3 ft. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



55 



above the groiind line, so we make 5 risers to get up there on 
the front steps ; this makes each rise a little less than 73^ in. 
If we had only divided this space into 4 parts, we should 
have had 9 in. in each rise, which would have been too high 
a rise. From 7 to 8 inches is the proper hight for the risers 
of stairs ; get them as near 73^ as you can. There is yet an- 
other consideration in these steps, that is the "run" of them. 
The run of a step is the actual horizontal distance between the 




Fig, 77. — Flan of Second Story. 

face of one riser and the face of the next, and the run, like the 
rise, must be uniform throughout ; for you must here take 
notice that in doing this drawing you are really building the 
house on paper, with this important difference, that whereas 
experiments and mistakes on the drawing involve only the 
erasure of a few lines, the same things in the actual building 
involve costly waste of time and material. So, to lay out our 
steps, we get our five spaces set off* on the elevation between 
the top of the door sill and the ground line. Ten inches is the 
proportionate run for this rise. Of course we cannot show it 
on the front elevation but we can on the plan, and on the side 
elevation. There are five risers in the distance between the 
ground and the floor, but as we make the door sill answer for 
one of the steps we only require four of them. Let it be re- 
membered that it is not the width of the step, or tread on top, 
which makes it right — it is the run. No matter how much 
projection we give to the steps to make them wide, if the pro- 
portion of the steps is not about 1}^ in. rise to 10 in. run, 
they will be ' ' hard to go up. " 



66 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

The rise, remember, is the distance from, the top of one step 
to the top of the next. For the practical construction of 
these steps we will have something further to say a few pages 
on. It is the drawing which concerns us now. 

The chimney is not shown on the plan of this house as it is 
supposed to be supported by props from the floor. This is 
not a good way in a durable house, but as it takes only about 
one-third of the brick, and we are aiming to put up a cheap 
house, we let it go. It will be 1)^ x 2>^ bricks in size, that is 
12x20 in. This gives a flue inside of 4x12 in., which is 
quite sufficient. It should be smoothly plastered on the in- 
side with mortar, so that if some of the joints in the brick- 
work should not have been quite filled, the chimney may still 
be tight, not smoke, and be safe from danger of fire commu- 
nicating from it to the wood near which it passes . Smoothly 
plastering the inside of a chimney also improves its draught 
in any case. At the proper hight inside, what is called a sheet 
iron thimble, a piece of 6 in. stove pipe, 4. in. long, should be 
built into the chimney to receive the stove pipe. 

The roof is what is called a third pitch ; that is, it is a third 
of the width of the building, higher on the ridge than it is on 
the sides. To lay it ofl' on the drawing we find the center of 
the building, and draw a line up through, making another 
across it at the hight of the room inside, 10 feet. Now, as 
the building is 12 ft. wide, we set up 4 ft . from the cross line, 
on the center line, and that hight is the top of the ridge. 
Then draw lines down to the ridge as shown in fig. 74, giving 
a projection of 12 inches at the eaves. On measuring the 
rafters, we find them to be 8 ft. 6 in. long ; we could have 
arranged to make them 8 ft. only, by making the roof of a 
quarter pitch ; that is, only 3 ft. rise in the center line, but 
a third pitch is best. 

The walls of the house are supposed to be of inch boards, 
12 in. wide, with 3 in. strips nailed over the joints ; and the 
house is on brick piers, although, if brick cannot be had, 
good heavy blocks sawed off a tree trunk will answer ; while 
the chimney may be of stove pipe, passing through the roof 
in a double tin collar. 

The windows, of which there are three, are of 10 x 16 glass, 
12 lights to the window, common frames ; that is, not hung, 
with only the bottom sash movable, and when that is opened 
it must be propped up by a stick or secured by a button. 

The doors are 3x8; they are represented in the drawing 
as four panel doors, but they will cost us about four dollars 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 57 



each for the doors alone. We can, by following directions 
on page 42, make a fair batten door to fill the opening, and 
make a neat appearance. 



SPECIFICATIONS. 



We will now give the ''specification" for this house. In 
the specification all the work should be minutely described 
in regard to workmanship and material, while for size, &c. , 
the drawings are referred to, but they may be considered as 
part of the specifications. The importance of full and proper 
specifications can hardly be over-estimated when work of any 
magnitude is to be performed. They prevent all dispute and 
misunderstanding between owner and contractor, and are a 
mutual protection to them. 

Specification of the materials to he furnished and the labor to he 
performed, in the erection and completion of one story frame 

house to he built at , in the town of , for Mr. , 

according to the accompanying drawings which have been 
prepared therefor by Mr. . 

DIMENSIONS. 

The building will have a frontage of 18 ft., by a width of 
12 ft. , and will be 10 ft. high in the inside, from the top of 
the floor to the top of the plate. For the positions of doors, 
windows and steps, reference is made to the drawings. 

FOUNDATIONS. 

The sills will rest on brick piers, 1% x 23^ bricks in size ; 
there will be three piers on each side as shown on the eleva- 
tion, six piers in all ; one at each corner and one between 
corners. Piers will be started 8 in. below the surface, on a 
footing 2 bricks high, 2% x Sj^ bricks in size. They will be 
carried up 2 ft. above the highest ground over which the 
house stands. 

Chimney flue will be carried up on studding props, 5 ft. 
high from the floor inside ; it will be 1%, x 2/4, bricks in size, 
and the flue in the inside must be smoothly plastered with 
mortar. There will be an iron thimble of 6^ in, diameter, 
inserted in the flue at the hight of 8 ft. from the floor to re- 



58 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ceive the stoye pipe. Chimney is to be neatly topped out 
above the roof, as shown on the drawing. 

TIMBER. 

All the timber used throughout is to be of sound quality, 
and as well seasoned as can be procured ; it will be of the 
following dimensions : sills, 6x6; floor Joists, 2x8, placed 
18 in. from centers ; the ceiling joists and roof rafters will be 
2x4, placed 2 ft. from centers. 

EOOF AJSTD COVEBING. 

The roof will be sheathed with 1 in. boards well nailed to 
the rafters, and these with the best quahty of shingles, laid 5 
in. to the weather, with the joints well broken. The eaves and 
gables will be finished with plain 4 in. strip, nailed to ends 
of rafters. The projection over wall will be 12 inches. 

SLDING. 

The house will be inclosed with sound 1 in. boards, 12 in. 
wide, with ^ in. strips, 3 in. wide, nailed over the joints. 

FLOOES. 

The floors will be laid with a good quahty of mill worked 
flooring, well seasoned and laid in courses, blind nailed to 
each joist. 

WINDOWS . 

The windows will have common frames, with 1% in. sash, 
10 X 16 glass, 12 lights to the window ; outside casing 4 in. 
wide, lower sash movable. There will be a wooden stop on 
frame to hold up the sash. 

DOGES. 

The front and back doors will be made as shown on the 
drawing, in 4 panels, with O. G. molding on stile and rail ; 
doors 1^ in thick. Doors will be hung with 4 in. "national 
butts," and secured by 5 in. rim locks. There will be a 5 in. 
barrel bolt on each door. 

STEPS. 

Front and back steps will be put up, shown on drawings, 
on 2 in. strings, with 1)^ treads ; and, 

FINALLY, 

If there is anything mentioned in these specifications which 
is not shown in the drawings, or if there be anything omitted 
in these specifications which is shown in the drawing, thf 
same is to be done by the contractor without extra charge. 

For form of Contract see page 85. 



1 


2 


3 


6 


7 


8 


5 


4 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 59 

Now that we have our drawings and specifications, we make 
out our bill of materials necessary for the building, and com- 
mencing at the foundations we £gure out the number of brick 
we will require, by calculating to lay the piers on footing 
courses as specified, and to start the chimney flue 5 ft. from 
the floor. We find that it will take about 1,000 bricks. Each 
pier contains 108 bricks if started 8 in. below the surface and 
carried up 2 ft. above ground, of the size given. There will 
be about 11 ft. of chimney measured from where it starts to 
the top ; this will require 350 bricks. These calculations 
you can make for yourself, in this way: for instance, let fig. 
78 represent the pier, Ij^ x 2)^ bricks in 
size ; you see it will take 8 bricks for every 
layer. It takes 6 layers of brick, including 
joints, to rise 17 inches in hight where this 

book is written, but sizes of brick vary in 

' „ J,, p. different localities. You can easily measure 

mg. va. e *eK ^ piece of brick work, to find out how many 
layers it will take to give the required hight. You find the 
number of brick in the footings and the chimneys in the same 
way. It is customary to allow the chimney as solid, as a good 
many bricks are broken in handhng, and the topping out of 
the chimney requires a few extra ones. 

To lay this number of brick you will require 20 cubic feet 
or 16 bushels of sand, and 4 cubic feet or 3^^ bushels of quick- 
lime. The mortar should not be mixed on the ground, but 
upon a rough board floor. 

If you lay your own brick, as, perhaps, you may have to do, 
be careful to have them level the courses plump over each 
other, square and straight. 

We now figure out our lumber bill. We shall require two 
sills 6x6, 18 ft. long, for the sides of the house, and two 6x6, 
12 ft. long for the ends. Our floor joists, we see by the 
specifications, are placed 18 in . from center to center ; they 
run across the 12 ft. way ; therefore we see there are 12 
spaces of 18 in. each, for which 13 joists will be required, 2x8 
and 12 ft. long. 

The plates are the pieces on which the lower ends of the 
roof rafters rest ; they also serve to fasten our siding to. In 
this house we shall want two 2x4, 18 ft. long, and two 2x4, 
12 ft. long ; and it is best to have a 2 x 4 stud on each side of 
door and window openings. As there are two doors and 
three windows we will require ten 2x4, 10 ft. long. Add 
two more for the chimney props, two 2x4, 10 ft. long. 



60 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

On measuring the drawing we find that the roof rafters are 

8 ft. 6 in. long, allowing them a foot projection. The most 
economical way to get them will be in 18 ft . lengths, as steam 
mills only cut the even feet, and instead of getting 2 pieces, 
each 10 ft. long, as we would otherwise have to, we will get 
one piece, 18 ft. long, from which we can get the two 8 ft. 6 
in. pieces. On reckoning up we find we will require 12 of 
these, as they are to be placed 2 ft. apart, and also 8 ceiling 
joists, 12 ft. long, 2x4. 

The roof, we find by measuring the drawing on the front, 
is 20 ft. long ; and by measuring "on side, we see it is nearly 

9 ft. down one side, making a surface 18 x 20. By multiplying 
these measurements together we find it will take 360 feet of 
sheathing boards to cover the roof. For the edges of gable 
and eaves we will also want 4 in. wide strip, as mentioned in 
the specifications ; it will take 76 feet of this. 

There are 360 square feet of surface in the roof. As car- 
penters reckon 100 square feet one "square," we find there 
are 3^ squares of roof to cover with shingles. The reckoning 
of the number of shingles necessary to cover a roof varies in 
diff'erent parts of the country ; where we write it takes 800 
sawed shingles to cover a square of roof ; reckoning on this 
basis we find our roof will require 2,880 shingles to cover it. 

We shall require for our siding 60 boards, of which 54 
should be 12 ft. long, the balance 16 ft. long. For the gable 
end of house of the strips to cover the joints we can reckon 
up the quantity as 64. 

The flooring is required to cover a surface of 12 x 18 ft. ; this 
will take 216 ft. , but as it is customary at the mills to count 
the flooring at 1^^ in. thick, we have to add 58 . ft. to this 
quantity, making , 274 feet ; then, if it is worked, that is 
tongued and grooved, 50 per cent, is added to that quantity, 
making 411 feet that we must order at the mill to cover 216 
ft. of flooring. Before ordering flooring it will be well to find 
out how the mills in your neighborhood figure it. 

For front and back steps we will require two 1)^ in. plank, 
18 ft. long, 11 in. wide. For stringers of same we will order 
two 2 in. plank, 12 in. wide and 10 ft. long. 

For our window and door frames, — if we cannot get them 
at the mill as cheap as we can make them, — we will order for 
the doors, 4 pieces 2 x 4, 12 ft. long ; for the windows, 3 pieces 
2 X 4, 16 ft. long; and 2 pieces 12 ft. long, 2x6, for siUs of both 
doors and windows. 

The sash we buy already glazed ; the doors we can buy, or 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 61 

make batten doors if we like. If we decide on the latter, as 
the opening is 3 x 8 for the two doors, we get about 80 ft. more 
floor planks from the mill, and the necessary pieces for bat- 
tens. 

Therefore this is the lumber bill we go to mill with, sup- 
posing we make everything but the sash sills : 

Sills 2 pieces, 6 x 6 18 ft. long 108 

*' 2 '* 6x6 12 *' 12 

Floor joists ... 13 " 2 x 8 12 " 104: 

Plates 2 " 2 X 4 18 " 24 

2 " 2x4 12 " 16 

Studs 12 " 2x4 10 " 80 

Eafters 12 " 2x4 18 " 144 

Ceiling joists. .8 " 2 x 4 12 " 64 

Sheathing 360 

54 boards ... .1 x 12 12 ft. long 648 

6 " ....1x12 16 " 96 

64 strips 1 X 3 12 " 192 

Flooring with doors 500 

Door and windo^ frames 4 ps 2 x 4 12 ft. long. . 32 

" " " 3 " 2x416 " .. 32 

" 2 *•' 2x612 " . . 24 

Total number feet of lumber 2,496 

2,880 shingles. 

10 ft)s. shingle nails. 

50 flos. tenpenny nails. 

10 fibs, eightpenny nails. 

2 pairs national butts and screws for same. 

2 5-in. rim locks, 1 right, 1 left, with knobs, &c. 

2 5-in. barrel bolts. 

As soon as we have the stuff on the ground, it is well to 
spread out the flooring and siding along the fence ; or put up 
a temporary rack for it, and turn it three or four times a day, 




Mg. 79.— The Ends of the SilU. 



62 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 




Cut off the sills square, of the exact lengths of 12 and 18 ft. 
halving the ends together in the manner showu in fig. 79, al- 
ways remembering to pick out the straight side, to mark it, 
and lay out the cuts from that side. 

Cut off the plates square in the same way and halve them 
together. Cut 24 boards 11 ft. 6 in. long ; square at both 
ends. Cut the floor joists 12 ft. long, and square. 

Cut the roof rafters, but 
first make a drawing of the 
roof on a smooth board, of 
large enough scale for you 
to set the bevel by. The 
adjoining sketch (fig. 80,) 
will show what we mean. 
Better make your drawing 
1^ in. to a foot or even 3 in. 
to a foot if you have a good 
sized board. The first raft- 
er you cut out will serve for 
a pattern for the rest, and 
yoTi can mark them by it. Be particular to make all cuts 
square. You will see the rafter notches over the plate at the 
bottom as shown in fig. 80. Cut 8 pieces for ceiling joists. 

We are now ready to lay out our foundation which we do 
as shown in the sketch, fig. 81, being very particular to make 
the corners square. 

For use about the building we should make a ten foot rod 
as soon as we come on the 
ground. Make this rod of 
a sound strip 1 in. square, 
and dressed off all round, 
with the feet plainly mark- 
ed and numbered upon it. 
Be careful in setting out 
the size of the building, 
to have the cord or line 2 
or 3 inches off the ground, 



Fig. 80. — Drawing of Roof. 




Fig. 81.— The Ground Laid 




nearly level as may be ; then you can dig the holes for the 
pier footings without disturbing it. 

We will start our first pier on the highest corner, and carry 
it up 2 ft. above the ground. When it is of the required 
hight place the plumb rule, or any other straight edge, on top 
of it ; bring it up exactly level with the spirit level, and sight 
along the bottom edge, as shown in our sketch ; and by an 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



63 



assistant marking on a rod at the other corner you can tell 
how many courses of brick you will have to come up above 
your footings You can also test all your corner piers in this 
way ; of course, for the piers between you will have ample 
guides after the comers are up, as you can look across the 
tops and see how they range. 




Fig. 82. — Sighting for ike Piers. 

Be very particular always to get your house laid out exact- 
ly square, and have all the piers level ; if you put up plumb 
work on such a foundation, everything about your house will 
"com.e right." 

As explained in a preceding page, the spirit level, when 
used on dressed work such as door and window frames, will 
iell us if things are plumb ; but the spirit level is only about 
30 inches long, and about a building, where the sawed lum- 
ber is not always straight, we require a plumb rule. This is 
generally a piece of inch board about 4 in. wide and 5 or 6 ft. 
long, dressed wp perfectly straight and square, of an exact 
width, -with a gauge mark down the center, and an opening 
cut at one end to receive the plumb bob, while 8, saw cut at 
the other end holds the cord which suspends the plumb bob. 

Of course it will be seen that when the plumb rule is held 
against an exactly upright body the cord which holds the 
bob will hang directly over the gauge line in the center of 
the plumb rule ; and if the body inclines either way the "bob 
v-ill hang off the center line and indicate in what direction 
the body overhangs. The plumb rule is in constant use 
about a building, and great care should be taken in making 
it to have it perfectly true. 



64 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



Lay on the sills and level them up, spiking them together 
at the comers. Then lay on the floor joists on the proper 
distances. Always take care in laying floor joists, if they are 
not straight, to put the rounding edge up. ^ Nail the floor 
joists to sills by toeing nails in alongside of joists. Select 8 
of the best siding boards with straight edges ; 4 of them you 
will saw off to the bevel of roof ; these boards are for the cor- 
ners ; tack them up to 
the comers, plumb them 
and keep them plumb by 
temporary stays inside. 
In fig. 83 we give what 
is termed an isometrical 
drawing of the frame of 
the house put up. ' ' Is- 
ometrical" means equal 
measure, and an isomet- 
rical drawing is one in 
which the scale is equal 
on all the lines. They 
can all be measured, be- 
ing unlike a perspective 
drawing to which it bears 
some resemblance. No 
object in reality could be 
seen like that, but such a 
drawing often enables a 
draughtsman to show the 
detail of a piece of work which he could not show in any othei 
way. 

After understandingly reading as far as this, we think no 
one who can drive a nail and saw a board square need have 
any difficulty in closing-in this house ; of course leaving 
spaces for the door and window frames ; remembering to let 
the siding boards run up two in. above the plate, or you'll 
have a 2 in. hole there between the plate and the under side 
of the roof sheathing. You must cut the rafters neatly 
through the siding boards. In the gables, after having put 
up tlje corner board sawed to the right pitch, you can run the 
others up unsawed, making them even only with the bottom 
of the sill, and when you get up the two gable rafters you 
can nail the side boards to them, and saw them off up there. 

The roof rafters can be nailed together at the ridge joint, 
on a platform of a few sheathing boards laid across the plates. 




Fig. 83. — Isometrical Drawing. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 65 

and set up in their places. As the projection at gable is only 
12 in. , and 1 in. sheathing boards, are pretty stiff, no rafters 
will be required beyond the walls. On the gable ends let the 
sheathing boards run out a little over as you nail them on, 
then snap a chalk line on them, and saw them off to 12 in. 
projection, nailing the 4 in. strip, as mentioned in specifica- 
tions, across the ends of the rafters on the eaves, and on edge 
of sheathing on the gables. The shingles you start at the 
bottom, laying a double coui'se there, and then marking up 5 
in. in each end. You snap a chalk line for every course, and 
set the ends of shingles on the line, nailing each shingle with 
2 shingle nails. The chimney should be above the roof when 
you shingle, so that you can fit about it neatly. 

As some of our readers may not know what blind nailing is, 
we give, in fig. 84, a sketch of the operation ; it is the only 




Fig. 84. — Specimen of Blind J^ailing. 

neat way of fastening down a floor, for by it not only are the 
unsightly nail heads hidden, but the act of driving the nails 
tends to tighten up the joint on the floor. It will be seen 
that the nails are driven into the corner on the upper side of 
the tongue. Great care must be taken in blind nailing not to 
bruise or mar the edges of the plank over the head of the 
nail, thereby leaving unsightly holes in the joints of the floor. 
These sketches, fig. 85, of the door and window frames will 
give you an idea of how they are made. The stuff for the 
frame is dressed up square, 2 in. thick, 4 in. wide, and the 
inch casings 4 in. wide ; sills 2x6. Notice that the stiles, or 
side upright pieces, are "gained," or let into the heads and 
siUs, half an inch ; it will be seen that the window casing is 
put on half an inch over opening. This is to form a stop 
for the sash, while the door jamb is rebated (see page 23) to 
receive the door, the casing edge being flush with the jamb. 



66 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



Of course, the rebate must be made according to the thick- 
ness of the door. A half inch square strip keeps the sash in 
place inside. The sills of both door and window frames are 
half an inch lower on the outside edge than inside ; this is 
to throw off water. 

To an experienced mechanic much of the foregoing descrip- 
tion of the operations to be performed in the erection of an 



IL & 



a 



Fig. 85. — Door and Window Frames. 

ordinary one room box house may have seemed trivial and 
unnecessary, but we have presumed that we might have one 
or two readers to whom a word of simple explanation of com- 
monly well known matters might be important. We shall 
now give the drawings and specifications of a neat little plas- 
tered cottage, with a story and a half main part, and a one 
story wing. All plastered, it can be built for from $800 to 
$1,000, according to location. 

If you do all the work yourseK, the one story building can 
be bmlt for a cash expenditure within $100. It will serve 
very well as a kitchen extension to the cottage shown, in fig. 
86, page 67. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



67 




Mg. 86. — Front Elevation of a One-and-a-half Story House 



SPECIFICATIONS OF STORY AND HALF HOUSE. 

Specificaiion of the material to be furnished, and of the labor 
to be performed, in the erection and completion of a frame 
dweUing-house, one and a half stories high, iviih one story 

wing, to be built at , in ,for Mr. , according 

to the accompanying drawings ichich have been prepared by 
, and which are to be regarded as illustrating and form- 
ing pari of these specifications : 

DIMENSIONS. 

The building will have a frontage of 28 feet altogether. The 
main pjert -will be 24 ft. in depth ; the wing will be 14 ft. ; 
the hight of first story will be 8 ft. 6 in. The hight of second 
story will be 5 ft. to slant of roof, and 8 ft. to level part of 
ceiling. These hights will be in the clear from floor to ceil- 
ing when building is finished. The porch will be 6 ft. wide, 
and 13 ft. long. For the arrangement of the rooms, stairs, 
doors, windows, &c., reference is hereby made to the plans. 

FOUNDATIONS. 

The sills will rest upon piers 1^ x 2)4 bricks in size, 
started on a footing of 2 x 3 bricks, two courses high, laid 8 
in. below the ground surface, and they wiU be carried up 2 ft. 
above the highest ground over which the house is placed ; 
they wiU be placed in the positions indicated by the dotted 



68 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



lines on the plan of first floor, the piers under the porch will 
be 1 X 23^ bricks in size placed as indicated. 

The chimney flue in main house will be started on the 
ground, on a footing of 2% x 3)^ bricks in size, 3 courses 
high, laid 12 in. below surface of ground ; it will be carried 
up on that footing 1% x ^% bricks in size. The inside of the 




Fig. 87. — Side Elevation of Story-and-half House. 

flue must be smoothly plastered with mortar, and 4 iron thim- 
bles will be set in it, in front and back rooms, on first and 
second floors, to admit stove pipe ; thimbles to be fitted with 
neat tin covers. 

The chimney flue in the wing will be started on ceiling 
joists, which will be securely hung to roof rafter to sustain it; 
stove pipe will enter with double tin collar about it in the 
ceiling ; flue must be smoothly plastered inside. Both flues 
must be topped out above the roof in a neat way, as shown on 
the drawing. 

TIMBEE. 

All the timber used throughout must be of good quality, 
and as well seasoned as can be procured in the locality. It 
will be of the following dimensions : sills, 6x8; floor joists, 
2x8, placed 16 in. from centers ; the collar beams, 2x4; the 
roof rafters, 2x4, placed 16 in. from centers ; the wall stud- 
ding will be 2x4; the plates, 4x4; the porch floor joists 
will be 2 X 6 ; the porch roof rafters, 2x4. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 69 

ROOF AND COVERING. 

The roof of main house and wing will be sheathed with 1 in. 
sheathing boards, well nailed to the rafters, laid close, and 
covered with the best quality of sawed shingles, laid 5 in. to 
the weather, with the joints well broken. 

The roof of the porch will be covered with good quality of 
roofing tin, put on \vith standing lock Joint, and well painted 
with two coats of mineral paint in oil. 

EAVES, CORNICE, GABLES AND CORNER BOARDS. 

The eaves and gables will be finished by a 6 in. square cor- 
ona, 1 in. thick, nailed to ends of roof rafters, vhich will be 
sawed off 2 in. square, where they project beyond the siding ; 
the edge of the sheathing boards will be finished with 1% in. 
round ; the gables will be finished as shown in the detail 
drawing with 2x4 cross and upright pieces, and inch board 
sawed as shown in the panels. The finials and ridge orna- 
ments will be sawed out of lj4 iii- plank, as shown on detail 
drawings ; also porch cornice and columns. The corner 
boards will be S}4 in- wide, of 1)^ in. stuff. 

WAIjIiS, SIDING AND WATER-TABLE. 

The walls will be of 2 x 4 |>^ studding, with double 
corners each way like this : yy y and the studs will be dou- 
bled at the door and win- lAIAIAI dow openings. 

The walls will be sided with good quality of narrow weather 
boards, with 13^ in. lap, put on with eightpenny brad-head 
nails, set in with nail set. 

The water-table will be 8 in. wide, 1)4 ^^- thick, with rebated 
strip on top, so that the weather boards will set over the lip 
on the back. 

JOISTS AND FLOORING. 

The floors will be laid with a good quality of null-worked 
flooring, laid in courses not over 5 in. wide, blind nailed to 
each joist. 

The floor joists will be gained into sills, flush with top, so 
that flooring will He on top of sill. 

The floor joists of second floor will rest in ribbon piece, 
1 X 4 in. , let in flush with inside edge of joists, and nailed to 
side studding. 

PLASTERING, 

All the walls and ceilings inside the house are to be lathed 
and plastered ; joints of lath to be broken every sixth lath, 
and each whole lath to have four nailings ; all comers to be 



70 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

made solid, no lath to be shoved through behind intersecting 
partitions. 

The plastering will be two coats of brown mortar weU 
haired, with a skin of plaster-paris. All angles must be made 
straight and plumb. 

The first two coats of mortar will be put in to come flush 
with door and window casings, which will then be molded, 
and the skin of plaster-paris will finish to the band molding, 
as shown on the detail drawing. 

WINDOWS. 

The windows will all have double hung box frames with 1% 
in. axle pulleys, and the best quality patent sash cord ; sashes 
1% in. thick, will be made in four lights, as shown on draw- 
ing ; glass, 15 x 36 in. ; three windows on first floor ; glass 
10 X 34 in double window ; glass in windows on second floor. 
15 X 28. First floor windows will have neat sash fastening^ 
on the meeting rail. 

DOOES. 

Doors on the first floor will be 3 x 7 ft. in size, 1^ in. thick, 
made in 4 panels O. G. on edge raised panel. The doors up- 
stairs will be 2 ft. 6 in. x6 ft. 6 in., and 1% in. thick, four 
panels. The doors will be hung with 3 in. "national butts," 
to 2 in. rebated frames, and will be secured by 5 in. rim locks, 
with white porcelain knobs. The two outside doors will have 
6 in. square bolts, put on just below lock. 

INSIDE FINISH. 

The inside finish will be of good, weU seasoned lumber, 
and will be trimmed according to the detail drawing. The 
base will be 8 in. beveled base, ^ round against it on the 
floor. 

STATRS. 

The stairs will be put up as shown on the plan, with 1^ in. 
plank stringers nailed to studding on both sides ; steps 1)^ 
in. thick, the risers % in. thick. 

PAINTING. 

All the wood work about the house, inside and outside, 
usually painted, is to have two good coats of lead and oil 
paint, of such color as the owner may direct ; the painter will 
properly putty all nail holes, and other imperfections in the 
wood which may require it ; also sandpaper the work properly 
and cover all knots and sap wood with gum sheUac before 
painting. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



71 



All windows will be glazed with best quality of sheet glass, 
well tinned and puttied. 

FINAIiliT. 

Execute anj and all further work necessary to complete the 
building fit and ready for occupation, which may be shown 
by, or which may be reasonably inferred from the drawings, 
although not herein specified, and if there is auything men- 
tioned in these specifications, which is not shown on the 
drawings, or if there be anything omitted in the specifications 
which is shown on the drawings, the same is to be done with- 
out extra charge, so that the building may be completed ac- 
cording to the full intent and meaning of both drawings and 
specifications. 

DETAIL DRAWINGS. 

We will now give the detail drawings referred to in the 
specifications, with such explanatory remarks as they may 
seem to need, although of course it will not be necessary in 
our description of this build- 
ing to give such minute di- 
rections as in the former one 
described. Remember, how- 
ever, that you cannot be too 
particular to get everything 
about the house level and 
plumb from the very start. 

The end view (fig. 88) of 
the frame of the main house 
when put up will give you 
an idea of how it is put to- 
gether. You will notice the 
6x8 siUs under the 2x4 wall 
strips on either side. You 
will observe in the specifica- 
tions you are directed to gain 
the floor joists into the sills. 

Below the section of the 
house framing you will see 
the sill with one gain cut in 
it and the end of the floor 
joist cut to go into the gain, 




6X8 



JOIST 



RIBBOM 



2X8 



j^BON 



JOIST 



2.X8 



6X8 



Fig. 88. — End View of Frame. 



which is 2 in. square and 4 in. deep, so in cutting your floor 
joists the length at the top will be 13 ft. 4 in., as you see the 



72 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

8 in. thickness (4 in. at each end of floor joist), makes the full 
width of frame, 14 ft. The gains are made by cutting with 
saw 2 in. at top and 4 in. down the side, and cleaning out the 
opening with the mortising chisel. Of course you space off 
and mark the places for gains on each sill before you begin ; 
indeed, it is the secret of getting on fast with work to lay off 
everything you can, mark it, have it cut, and on the ground 
ready to put together before you commence to put up your 
frame ; when this is done, it is astonishing how quickly you 
can put up a frame ; but to do it you must carefully make on 
a good sized board, a drawing of what you are about, like 
these we show here, but on a larger scale, say 1% or 3 in. to 
a foot. Your steel square and flat carpenter's pencil will be 
all you want to do that, but you must take care and think all 
the time what you are doing, or you will be making costly 
blunders. 

The advantages of gaining the floor joists into the sills are 
these : the floor plank lie over the edge of the sill, and there 
is no inside communication between the walls for rats and 
mice to take advantage of ; if this opening is left, as it will be 
in case we put on the floor joists as we did in our first house, 
the rough inside of the plastered wall makes a first-rate ladder 
for those household pests ; there is also one floor joist saved 
at each end of the house, as the floor plank can be nailed on 
the sills in that case You must be careful in marking for the 
gains to match your 4 in. always from the top edge of both 
the sills and joist, then all will come flush on top ; otherwise, 
owing to rough framing timber often varying 3^ to 3^ in. in 
width, you may have some chiseHng out to do, and may have 
to put in chips or wedges to make an even surface, and these 
are said always to indicate a poor workman. 

The ribbon piece is seen under the ends of the second story 
floor joists. It is let into the edge of wall joists flush, and 
the gains for it are cut on the ground before you put up your 
frame. The second story joists are cut 14 ft. long, rest in the 
ribbon strip and are nailed against the wall studs. The wall 
studs, second story joists, roof rafters and collar beams (that 
piece which forms the level part of ceiUng on second floor is 
the collar beam) are all placed 16 in. apart from centers ; the 
reason for this is that the laths which are nailed to them are 
4 ft. or 48 in. long, and they require four naiUngs in their 
length to make a proper plastered wall, and with 16 in. spaces 
they have a nailing at each end, and two in between them. 

The wall studs are 16 ft. long, The distance between the 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 73 

joists is marked in the drawing, making allowance for the 
floor below and the ceiling above, for the specification says 
the hight must be in the clear when finished. 

The plates are the pieces running across the upper ends of 
the wall studs, on which roof rafters rest, the length of the 
building. They may be made of two 2x4 studs nailed to- 
gether on the ground, and the proper distances of the wall 
studs must be plainly marked in them, as well as the sills. 
Now to put them up, if there be only two of you at wo^ on 
the job, all studs and everything being ready cut to the 
length, set up the two corner posts on the sill, toe-nailing 
them well ; plumb them and nail good stout braces on them 
plumb, as with the corners of our first house ; also put up an- 
other wall stud on the place marked for it on sill, about half 
way between the corners ; also plumb and brace this too ; now 
by means of a couple of ladders placed at the corners, you 
and your partner can carry up the plate, and nail it strongly 
to top of the corner studs ; then while one of you sets ujd the 
studs and nails below, the other can straddle the plate and 
nail in the wall studs one after another according to the marks 
already made on the plate. 

The walls should be put up and sided, as a general thing, 
before you put up the roof rafters, as the building is so much 
stiJffer when the siding is on. It was explained iu talking of 
our first house, how we cut the roof rafters ; it will be seen in 
the drawing that we have ripped the rafter down to 2 in. 
where it projects beyond the wall ; this is done to make it 
look less heavy as it shows from below ; and as it is to be 
painted we jack off the rough before we put it up. You can 
make a platform across house with plank or joist, and nail 
the rafters and collar beams all together ; then set them up 
in place ; this will be found more convenient than to nail 
them together on the ground, as they are awkward things to 
handle after they are together. 

You will take notice that the roof of the wing is of a differ- 
ent pitch from the main house ; this is made so as to bring 
its ridge under the eave of main house. We think, from the 
previous remarks we have made you can lay off the rafters for 
the wing roof without further explanation. 

The top of porch timbers being 2x6 wiU come 2 in. below 
the top of sill of the house, so that the bottom of door sills 
which are cut to let down an inch into the house sill will rest 
on the porch floor, while the house floor, which we suppose to 
be of inch plank, will come flush with top of door sill, and a 



74 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

saddle or carpet strip covers the crack. The porch timbers 
will nm lengthwise, and should be supported by a bearer 
from the middle pier to the house sill ; the porch floor should 
be 1% in. lower in front than at the back, so that water will 
not lie there in stormy weather. To secure this fall, reduce 
width of your front porch floor joists, for to pitch them down 
would bring the bottom edge off the bottom line of building, 
and by the drawing you see it is all straight. 

The porch finish is shown in our illustration of front eleva- 
tion, fig. 86, page 67. In this porch the columns are made of 
2 X 2 in. strips planed up square ; the open space between is 
5 in. wide, and has ornamental sawed work 1 in. thick fitted 
in it ; the scroll in the angle is 2 in. stuff ; the frieze — ^that 
piece resting on top of the columns, 8 in. wide and 2 in. thick ; 
the roof rafters rest on top of it, and project beyond it as 
shown on the drawing, with the ends cut to a pattern ; the 
roof is laid on these, floor plank will do for this, put on with 
the planed side down ; of course the roof rafters, and all the 
other wood work about the porch which shows should be 
planed. 

This porch can be put up cheaply and yet will look neat 
and tasty. Be careful when setting out your porch to have 
the line of the foundation piers, 12 in. inside of the line of the 
house piers ; then the edge of your porch cornice will come 
flush with wall of house, otherwise it will project beyond 
house walls and look badly ; you will see what is meant by 
looking at the plan of first floor, fig. 76, page 54. 

The eaves of this house will be finished like those of our 
fijjst house, only the stuff will be planed, because we want 
to paint it. The bottom side of the sheathing boards where 
they lie over the rafters must also be planed, as that shows 
from below. On the gables, where the projection is 18 in. as 
at the eaves, the sheathing boards will be supported by stout 
pieces of roof rafters, halved down on end inside rafter, and 
running back inside, iDeing well fastened to next rafter ; they 
will be placed at same distances as rafters which show beyond 
eaves. 

The corner boards are put on — after the water-front — as 
soon as the frame is up ; the ends of weather boards should 
make tighit joints against them. 

The finish of the gable is shown in our illustration (fig. 89) 
on next page. All the ornamental sawing is now done at the 
mills, but of course it can be performed with a hand compass 
saw. The ridge cresting and finials should be 1^ in. thick. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



75 




Fig. 89. — Finish of the Gable. 



Fig. 90 shows the construction of a box window frame. 
The names of the different parts are marked on them. By 
this drawing you see the necessity of putting double studs at 
door and window openings ; the second stud here gives us a 
nailing for the weather boards outside. 



P^"^ 




Mg. 90. — Construction of Box Window Frame. 

The inside casing is }4 of an inch thick, and plastering is 
finished up to that surface ; then the molding is put on, pro- 
jecting over the molding on the plaster ; if the casing shrinks 
there is no opening to be seen between it and the plaster, as 
there would be if back edge of the molding was fair with the 
back edge of the casing. The beveled base with three-quarter 
round against it will be understood by looking at the draw- 
ing, fig. 90. 



76 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



In fig. 91 we show the door trimmiiig, with 2 in. rebated 
jamb for door, casings, &c. 





s 




/ \ 


A 


i 
OL L 









^ 



LlLX^ 



Fig. 91. — Door Trimming, Jamh, Casings, ^c. 

In regard to the stairs, you will have no difficulty if you take 
exactly the hight from the top of the first floor to the top of 
the second floor, and divide that distance into risers as near 
73^ in. as they will come ; then the runs will be ten. After 
you pass the four bottom risers it will be plain work ; as for 
the bottom risers, if you lay them out on the floor, in the 
opening where they are to be placed, you will see more 
readily how they are to go up, than you could from any ex- 
planation we might give here. 

We have only provided for setting this house on piers ; a 
cellar could be dug under the main part, with stairs leading 
down below the second story ones. 

We will now give a bill of materials for the house shown in 
fig. 86, page 67. 

BELL OF MATEEIALS. 

SiUs, 2 pieces, 6x8, 24 ft. long, sides of main 
house 192 

SiUs, 5 pieces, 6x8, 14 ft. long ; ends of main 
house, and all about wing 280 

Floor joists, 46 pieces, 2x8, 14 ft. long ; first 
and second story, main house and wing 858 

Carried forward 1330 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 77 

Brought forward 1330 

Collar beams, 19 pieces, 2x6, 12 ft. long ; main 

house, second story ceiling 228 

Ceil joists, 12 pieces, 2 x 6, 14 ft. long ; wing ceil- 
ing 168 

Kafters, 38 pieces, 2x4, 12 ft. long ; main roof . 304 
'* 16 pieces, 2x4, 10 ft. long, wing roof. . 107 
" 4 pieces, 2x4, 14 ft. long ; porch roof 38 

Walls, 77 pieces, 2x4, 16 ft. long ; main house, 

allow for corners and openings 820 

" 44 pieces, 2x4, 10 ft. long; wing, cor- 
ners and openings doubled 285 | 

Plates, 12 pieces, 2x4, 12 ft. long ; main house 

and wing 96 

Floor joists, 4 pieces, 2x6, 14 ft. long ; porch 

floor 56 

Sheathing for both roofs 968 

Weather boarding all round ; there are 1684 sq. 
ft. of surface ; to get enough stuff from the 
mill to cover this surface you must order 25 
per cent, additional to allow for loss, and 

which makes 2,105 

Flooring 1 in. thick, 50 per cent, allowed in ad- 
dition to actual surface covered 1,575 

Base 165 

Porch 75 

Water-table ■ 110 

Total feet of lumber .8,430 

7 doors and frames, 3x7, 1st floor. 

2 " "2 ft. 6 in. X 6 ft. 6 in., 2d floor. 

1 double window, 1st floor. 

3 single *< '« 

2 " " 2d floor. 
Plastering, 375 feet. 

7,750 shingles, reckoning 800 to 100 square feet. 

We have put no prices on the materials, as rates vary ac- 
cording to locality ; such a house as this can be put up in the 
town where this book is written for $850. 



78 



THE HOME MECHANIO, 



THE FRAMING OF ROOFS. 



Roofs of two slopes in narrow buildings, such as the small 
cottages which have been described in the previous part of 
this book, are composed of rafters alone, with a cross piece, 
forming a pair of opposite rafters into what is termed a couple. 
The rafters without the cross piece, or tie beam, would tend to 
thrust out the walls on which they rest ; and this cross piece 
ds intended therefore to act as a tie to counteract this thrust. 
Its position is consequently of importance, and from a false 
economy, or from an ignorance of its function, it is generally 
in buildings of an inferior class placed so high as to be of 
httle use in counteracting the thrust. 

This kind of roof, the couple roof, is only practicable in 
buildings of very moderate width. In wide buildings, the 




Fig. ^2.— Framed Boof. 



rafters would bend of their own weight unless made of great 
size or supported in some manner. When the width of the 
building exceeds these moderate limits, the rafters are kept 
from bending by a piece of timber parallel to the tie beam, 
called a collar beam. But it will be easily seen that couple 
roofs so formed, independently of consuming a great quantity 
of timber, can only be used for small spans ; hence it is ne- 
cessary to use the framed roof when the space to be covered 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 79 

is a large one. In framed roofs the rafters are sustained by- 
pieces of timber which lie under them horizontally, and di- 
vide their length into spaces less than the limit, at which the 
rafters will bend under the weight of the roof covering. These 
horizontal pieces are caW. purlins, and are sustained by trussed 
frames of carpentry, distributed transversely at equal dis- 
tances in the length of the building, the distance being cal- 
culated in regard to the strength of the purlins. 

Let us now examine the principles of trussing. Let A B, 
C B, be two rafters placed on walls at A and C, and meeting 
in a ridge B. Even by their own weight, and much more 
when they are loaded, these rafters would have a tendency to 
spread outward at A and C, and to sink at B. 

If this tendency be restrained by a tie established between 
A and C, and if A B, B C, be perfectly rigid, and the tie A 
incapable of extension, B will become a fixed point. This, 
then, is the ordinary couple roof, in which the tie A C is a 
third piece of timber, and which may be used for spans of 
limited extent ; but when the span is so great that the tie A C 
tends to bend downward or sag, by reason of its length, then 
the conditions of stability obviously become impaired. Now, 
if from the point B a string or tie be let down and attached 
to the middle D, of A C, it will evidently be impossible for 
A C to bend downward so long as A B, B C, remain of the 
same length ; D, therefore, like B, will become a fixed point, 
if the tie B I) be incapable of extension. But the span may 
be increased, or the size of the rafters A B, B C, be diminish- 
ed, until the latter also have a tendency to sag ; and to pre- 
vent this, pieces D E, D F, are introduced, extending from 
the fixed point D to the middle of each rafter, and establish- 
ing E and E as fixed points also, so long as D E, D F, remain 
unaltered in length. The meaning of the verb "to truss" is 
to tie up. In this frame we truss, or tie up, the point D, and 
the fi-ame A B C is a trussed frame, a roof in which such 
frames are employed is a trussed roof. In like manner, F 
being established as a fixed point, is trussed to it. In every 
trussed frame there must be evidently one series of the com- 
ponent parts in a state of compression, the other in a state of 
extension. The functions of the former can only be filled by 
pieces which are rigid, while the place of the latter may be 
supplied by strings. In the diagram the pieces A B, C B, 
are compressed, and A C, D B, are extended ; yet in general 
the tie D B is called a king post, a term which conveys an al- 
together erroneous idea of its duties. Thus we see how the 



80 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



two principal rafters, by this being incapable of compression, 
and the tie beam by its being incapable of extension, serve, 
through the means of the king post, to establish a fixed point 
in the center of the space spanned by the roof, which point 




Fig. 93. — Trussing with Straining Beam between the Posts. 

becomes the support of the struts, these at the same time 
preventing the rafters from bending, and serving in the estab- 
lishing of other fixed points ; the combination of these pieces 
is called a king-post roof. 

It is sometimes, however, inconvenient to have the center 
of the space occupied by the king post, especially where it is 
necessary to have apartments in the roof. In such a case re- 
course is had to a different 
manner of trussing. Two 
suspending posts are used 
and a fourth element is in- 
troduced, viz., the strain- 
ing beam, a b, (see. fig. 
93) extending between the 
posts. 

The principle of trussing 
is the same. The rafters 
are compressed, the strain- 
ing beam is compressed, 
and the tie beam and posts 
(now called queenposis) are 
in a stat^ of tension. 
In some roofs, for sake 
of effect, the tie beam does not stretch across the foot of the 
principals, but is interrupted. 

In point of fact, though occupying the place of, it does not 
fill the office of a tie beam, but acts merely as a bracket 
attached to the wall. It is then called a hammer beam. 

It is a general rule that wood should be used as struts, and 
iron as ties ; and in many modern trusses this rule has been 
admirably exemplified by the combination of both materials 
in the frames. 




94. — The Hammer Beam. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



81 



There are other principles used for roofs, as the curved 
principle, the laminated arc, &c. , which will be found treated 
of in larger works. 

TEEDGOLD'S RULES. 

We give below Mr. Tredgold's rules for proportioning the 
strength of the various pieces composing the roof. In esti- 
mating the pressure on a roof for apportioning the proper 
size of the timbers to be used, not only the weight of the tim- 
ber and the slates, or other covering, must be taken, but also 
the weight of snow which in severe climates may be on its 
surface, and also the force of the wind, which we may calcur 
late at 40 lbs. per superficial foot. 

The weight of the covering materials, and the slope of the 
roof which is usually given, are contained in the following 
table : 



MATERIAIi. 

Tin 

Copper 

Lead 

Zinc 

Pine Shingles 

Long Cypress Shingles . 
Slate 



INOIjINATION. 

Rise 1 in. to ft. 

'' 1 

" 2 

'' 3 

" 5 

" 6 

" 6 



WEIGHT PEE 
SQUAKE FOOT. 

^ to 1^ ft)S 
1 -IK 

4 "7 
IM " 2 

ly^ " 2K 

4 "5 

5 ''9 



In the following rules Tredgold assumes 66)^ lbs. as the 
weight of each square foot. It is customary to make the 
rafters, the beams, posts and struts all of the same thickness. 

rN A KING POST KOOF OF PINE TIMBEK. 

To Fiin> THE Dimensions of the PRiNciPAii Rafters. — 
Multiply the square of the length in feet by the span in feet, 
and divide the product by the cube of the thickness in inches ; 
then multiply the quotient by 0.96 to obtain the depth in 
inches. 

Mr. Tredgold gives also the following rule for the rafters as* 
more general and reliable : — 

Multiply the square of the span in feet, by the distance be- 
tween the principals in feet, and divide the product by 60 
times the rise in feet : the quotient will be the area of the sec- 
tion of the rafter in inches. 

If the rise is one-fourth of the span, multiply the span by 



82 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

the distance between the principals, and divide by 15 for the 
area of the section. 

When the distance between the principals is 10 feet, the 
area of the section is two-thirds the span. 

To FIND THE Dimensions of a Tie Beam, when it has to 
SUPPORT A Ceiling only, — Divide the length of the longest 
unsupported part by the cube root of the breadth, and the 
quotient multiplied by 1.47 will give the depth in inches. 

To find the Dimensions of the King Post. — Multiply the 
length of the post in feet by the span in feet : multiply the 
product by 0. 12, which will give the area of the section of the 
post in inches. Divide this by the breadth for the thickness, 
or by the thickness for the breadth. 

To FIND the Dimensions of Struts. — Multiply the square 
root of the length supported in feet by the length of the strut 
in feet, and the square root of the product multiplied by 0.8 
will give the depth, which multiplied by 0.6 will give the 
thickness. 

IN A QUEEN POST ROOF. 

To FIND THE Dimensions of the Principal Rafters. — ^Mul- 
tiply the square of the length in feet by the span in feet, and 
divide the product by the cube of the thickness in inches : 
the quotient multiplied by 0.155 will give the depth. 

To FIND the Dimensions of the Tie Beam. — ^Divide the 
length of the longest unsupported part by the cube root of the 
breadth, and the quotient multiplied by 1.47 will give the 
depth. 

To FIND THE Dimensions of the Queen Posts. — Multiply 
the length in feet of the post, by the length in feet of that 
part of the tie beam it supports : the product multiplied by 
0. 27 will give the area of the post in inches ; and the breadth 
and thickness can be found as in the king post. 

The dimensions of the struts are found as before. 

To FIND THE Dimensions of a Straining Beam. — Multiply 
the square root of the span in feet by the length of the strain- 
ing beam in feet, and extract the square root of the product ; 
' multiply the result by 0.9, which will give the depth in inches. 
The beam, to have the greatest strength, should have its depth 
to its breadth in the ratio of 10 to 7 ; therefore to find the 
breadth multiply by 0. 7. 

To find the Dimensions of Purlins. — Multiply the cube 
of the length of the purlin in feet by the distance the purlins 
are apart in feet, and the fourth part of the product will give 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 83 

the depth in inches, and the depth multipHed by 0. 6 will give 
the thickness. 

To FJKD THE Dimensions op the Common Baptees when 
THEY AKE PLACED 12 INCHES APAET. — Divide the length of 
bearing in feet by the cube root of the breadth in inches, and 
the quotient multipHed by .72 will give the depth in inches. 

In designing the framing for a roof keep closely in mind 
the folio Tving : 

Beams acting as struts should not be cut into or mortised 
one side, so as to cause lateral yielding. 

Purlins should never he framed into the jDrincipal rafters, 
but should be notched. When notched they will carry nearly 
twice as much as when framed. 

Purlins should be in as long pieces as possible. 

The ends of tie beams should be kept with a free span 
around them to prevent decay. 

It is an injudicious practice to give an excessive camber to 
the tie beam ; it should only be drawn up when deflected, as 
the parts come to their bearings. 

The struts should always be immediately underneath that 
part of the rafter whereon the purlin lies. 

The diagonal joints of struts should be left a Uttle open at 
the inner part, to aUow for the shrinkage of the heads and 
feet of the king and queen posts. 

All cracks or bends in iron ties should be avoided. 

And as an important final maxim — Every construction should 
he a little stronger than strong enough. 



How TO PHiE LuMBEE. — ^Lumber should not be allowed to 
depreciate for lack of proper care in piling. Piles should be 
built so that the front cross piece shall be higher than the 
back, and each in succession be overlapped, or laid out a trifle 
beyond the previous one. A pile 20 feet high should incline 
outward from base to top at least 18 or 24 inches, which will 
prevent storms from eating in, or snow from resting to melt 
and form ice. The sides of the pile should be carried up 
plumb, each cross piece directly on top of another, so that the 
weight shall rest sohdly on each, and on the foundation tim- 
ber. If the courser be placed a little forward or back of the 
previous one the weight above wiU twist, warp and perhaps 
break the lumber. Piles should never be placed less than 3 
feet apart, and boards in the pile should always be laid with 
from 2 to 4 inches of space between them. 



84 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



LEVELING. 



Wheee the ground is limited in extent, and variations of 
level do not exceed 12 ft., the Lights of any points maybe 
found with the spirit-level in the following manner : 

In a convenient place near the highest part of the ground, 
drive three stout stakes at equal distances from each other, 




Fig. 83. — System of Leveling Small Plots of Ground. 

and nail to them three pieces of stout plank, as shown in the 
cut, their upper edges being most accurately adjusted by the 
spirit level. The level being then placed on the frame an 
assistant proceeds to the first point of which the hight is re- 
quired, holding up a rod with a sliding vane which he raises 
or lowers in obedience to the directions of the surveyor, until 
it coincides with a pair of sights at the bottom of the level ; 
when the cross mark on the vane, and the two sights on the 
level are all three in line, the hight of vane will be the differ- 
ence in level between the top of the leveling frame, and the 
place where the staff was held up. 



Rats in Cellars. — To prevent rats from burrowing into 
cellars, either make a good water lime floor, or else build the 
wall on a close-jointed flagging, laid some inches below the 
bottom of the cellar, and projecting some three or four inches 
beyond the wall. The rat burrows down next to the wall, 
reaches the flagging and cannot pass through it, never in any 
case working back to the edge. — Rural Annual. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 85 



FORM OF CONTRACT. 



There should always be a contract or agreement attached 
to the specifications, in which should be stated what both 
parties to the bargain are to do ; what work the builder per- 
forms ; what materials he is to furnish ; and, on the part of 
the owner, how he is to pay, and when. There are two copies 
of this agreement prepared, and both parties sign both copies, 
each party keeping a copy. The agreement which we give 
below is one very generally used ; we believe it contains all 
that is necessary in a contract for an ordinary building ; if 
anything more is required in any particular instance, it wiU 
suggest itself from the circumstances of the case. 

CONTEACT. 

Agreement made between Mr. A. Bee, of , in the County of 

, State of , of the first part, and Mr. C. Dee, of , 

in the County and State aforesaid, touching the erection of a 

frame diceUing-Jiouse for the said A. Bee, to he located on 

Street, in , and the complete finishing the same in all its 

parts hy the party of the second part, according to the full in- 
tent and meaning of the plans and specifixiations of date here- 
with, and signed hy hoth parties hereto. Said plans and 
specifications to he considered as apart of this agreement. 

The said C. Dee, in consideration of the covenants and 
agreements hereinafter contained, by the said A. Bee, being 
duly kept and performed, does covenant, promise and agree 
that he, the said O. Dee, shall commence the work immedi- 
ately and prosecute it to its completion without any delays 
of the same, except such as are inevitably caused by the 
strike of workmen or the state of the weather, and that he 
will perform aU labor and furnish all materials necessary to 
complete the work so as to satisfy the provisions of this con- 
tract, in accordance with the requirements of the plans and 
specifications, in the most thorough and workmanlike man- 
ner, under the superintendence of to his satisfaction, and 
to the acceptance of the owner, on or before the day of 
now next ensuing the date hereof. And it is hereby expressly 
agreed that the said C. Dee shall pay and aUow the said A. 
Bee, for each and every day, except the aforesaid, beyond 



86 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

said . day of , the sum of dollars as liquidate damages. 
But if the work is delayed by the causes aforesaid, the said 
C. Dee is to be allowed one extra day for each and every day 
of delay to complete said work. 

And the said A Bee, in consideration of the above promises 
being well and truly kept, doth, for himseK and his executors, 
agree well and truly to pay, or cause to be paid, unto the said 
C. Dee, or his legal representatives, the following sum, to wit, 
dollars, in the manner following : When the building is 
raised and enclosed, dollars ; when the plastering is fin- 
ished, dollars ; and the balance, dollars, within 
thirty days after the building is completed and accepted by 
the architect and proprietor, free from all charges by way of 
lien or other attachments. 

No extra work shall be performed or materials furnished, 
beyond that provided for by this agreement, and the plans 
and specifications aforesaid, nor shall the work be changed 
or in anywise varied by the said C. Dee, except upon request 
made by the said A. Bee, who shall have the right to vary and 
alter, so far as respects any part of the work or materials at 
any time remaining to be performed or finished by the said C. 
Dee. And in case a request is made by the said A. Bee, to 
have any change or alterations made, the price shall be agreed 
upon, and the bargain made in writing, and signed by both 
parties hereto, before such changes or alterations are com- 
menced. And if any difference of opinion shall arise in re- 
gard to the price of extra work, it shall be referred to the 
architect and two disinterested persons, one to be chosen by 
each of the parties hereto, and their decision shall be final 
and binding on aU parties. 

It is further agreed that insurance shaU be effected upon 
the building in some company approved by the said A. Bee, 
immediately after the first payment, to the amount of said 
payment, and to be increased after each payment to the 
amount of the sum of all the payments then made, said policy 
of insurance, to be in the name of and for the benefit of the 
said A. Bee, in case of loss or damage ; he paying one half, 
and the said C. Dee paying one half the expense of the policy. 

In witness whereof, the said parties of the first and second 
parts have hereunto set their hands and seals this day 

of eighteen hundred and j^^ Bee. M 

Executed in presence of C. Dee. ^ 

John Doe. ) Witnesses 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 87 



GLOSSARY. 



/ 

The following short glossary of the terms used by carpen- 
ters in describing their work, will doubtless be found useful to 
many of our readers, especially beginners at the trade. 

Abacus. — The upper member of the capital of a column. 

Abutment. — The solid part of a pier from which the arch 
springs. 

Adze'. — A well-known curved cutting instrument for dress- 
ing or chipping horizontal surfaces. 

ANGiiE Bead. — ^A bead nailed to projecting angles in rooms 
to protect the plaster on the edge from injury. 

Anta (plural Anice). — A pilaster attached to the wall not 
usually diminished from bottom to top. 

Apron. — The piece under sill in inside finish of window. 

Architeave. — The lowest part of the entablature resting 
immediately on abacus. Carpenters frequently call door 
and window casing, molded or plain, architraves as the case 
may be. 

Ants. — The sharp edge formed by any two surfaces which 
meet at an angle. The edges of a brick are anises. 

Astragal. — A small molding, semi-circular or semi-elliptic ; 
sometimes carved. 

Back Lining. — The pieces in a box window, back of and 
parallel to the pulley stile, and next the wall, forming the 
weight box. 

Back of a Hip. — The upper edge of a hip rafter. 

Back of a Rafter. — The upper edge of it. 

BAiiCONT. — A projection built out from the surface of a 
wall, usually supported by brackets. 

Baluster. — A small pillar serving to support a rail, for 
balcony stairs, &c. , improperly called bannister. 

Balustrade. — A row of balusters set in a line with cap and 
base, serving as a railing or fence for altars, balconies, &;c. 

Bannister. — A corruption of baluster. 

Band. — Any flat member with small projection. 

Base. — The lower part of a column on which the shaft is 
placed ; also the skirting board fastened to the wall just 
above the floor all round the room. 



88 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Batten. — A name given to a piece of board, from 2 to 4 or 
more inches wide, and about an inch thick, used to nail over 
joints in wider boards ; also the cross pieces in a common 
door to which all the others are fastened and which holds the 
door together. 

Battee. — The sloping backward of a wall, when it inclines 
toward you it is said to overhang. 

Bead. — A molding whose cross section is semi-circular. 
When the section is three quarters round, the bead is said to 
be returned, because to form it the bead plane turned the 
other corner. 

Brari. — A horizontal piece of timber, such as a tie beam in a 
roof truss ; in New England floor joists are often called beams. 

Beaehng. — The span or length between the points of sup- 
port of a beam or joist. 

Bed Moudings. — The moldings between the corona and 
frieze. 

Bevel. — A tool with an adjustable blade, which can be 
fixed at any angle by means of a screw ; any edge but a 
square or molded one, is said to be a bevel. 

Bits. — Those exchangeable boring tools for wood used with 
the brace. 

BiiiND Nailing. — Nailing so that the nails do not show on 
the surface ; narrow plank floors are so nailed, by driving the 
nails at the side joint just above the tongue. 

Bond Timbee. — Timber generally the thickness of a brick 
laid in the wall to tie it together ; they should be used very 
sparingly. 

Boss. — A head vforkman or employer, supposed to be de- 
rived from an ancient word signifying raised up, that is, 
above others. 

Bottom Rail. — The lowest rail of a door or other framed 
work. 

Box Feame. — Window frames in which the sash is hung 
by cords to counter weights in boxes on either side of the 
frame. 

Box Head Feames. — Those in which the sash can slide up 
above the actual head opening of frame into thickness of 
wall ; box head frames are often made when windows open 
out on porches and balconies to give head room to pass in 
and out. 

Beace. — ^A kind of curved handle used for boring holes 
with bits. Also an inclined beam, bar, or strut used to 
stiffen the frame of a building or roof. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. §9 

Beacket. — A projecting piece of board, &c., frequently 
triangular ; the vertical side attached to the wall, and the 
horizontal side supporting a shelf, &c. ; often made in orna- 
mental shapes. 

Break. — Any projection from the general surface of a 
building. 

Breast Summer. — A beam of wood, iron, or stone support- 
ing a wall over a door or other opening ; a kind of lintel. 

Bridging. — Short cross braces nailed in between the floor 
joists or beams to prevent their springing to and fro, and to 
stiffen the floors. 

Bridging Joists. — Those extending from wall to wall, on 
which the floors are nailed. 

Camber. — A slight upward curve given to a beam or truss 
to allow for its settlement, after it is in position. 

DouBiiE Hung. — A term appHed to a window when both 
sashes are hung with weights and movable. 

Canttlevers. — Pieces of wood framed into the front and 
sides of a house to sustain the eaves and moldings over them ; 
also to support balconies. 

Capital. — The head or uppermost member belonging to a 
column or pilaster. 

Carpentry. — The art of arranging the main timbers of an 
edifice. 

Casement. — Sashes hung on hinges. 

Cavetto. — A hollow molding whose profile is a quarter of 
a circle. 

Centering. — The temporary wood work over which the 
masonry of on arch is formed. 

Chamber. — Same as bevel. 

CiiAMP. — A piece fastened by tongue and groove transverse' 
ly across the ends of others, to keep them from warping. 

CiiAP Boards. — Weather boards are sometimes called so. 

Claw. — The spUt at the end of an iron bar or hammer to 
take hold of the heads of nails or spikes for the purpose of 
drawing them out, as in the common claw hammer. 

Cleat. — A piece fastened to another to serve as a support 
for something else. 

Collar Beam. — A beam framed crosswise between two 
principal rafters, above the plates on which they pitch. 

Column, — A perpendicular cylindrical form, consisting of 
base, shaft and capital. 

Composite Order. — The fifth order or style in Roman or 
classical architecture. 



90 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Corinthian Ordee. — The fourth order or style in Koman 
architecture ; the third order in Grecian. 

Cornice. — The ornamental projection at the top and eaves 
of a building or other construction, consisting of flat horizon- 
tal and perpendicular surfaces with moldings. 

Corona (means crown). — The flat square and massy mem- 
ber of a cornice just below the O. G. or cymatium which con- 
stitutes the crown member of the cornice. 

Crown. — The uppermost member of a cornice; called also 
corona. 

Curtail Step. — The lower step in a flight, ending at its 
outer extremity in a scroll. 

Cyma, Cymatium (means wave). — ^A molding hollow in the 
upper part and swelling below, when it is called cyma recta ; 
if the upper part swells and the lower is hollow it is called 
cyma reversa. 

Dado. — A plane used to cut grooves in boards at right an- 
gles to the grain of the wood ; the groove itself is also called 
a dado ; much used in neat shelving. 

Dentils (means teeth). — Small square blocks or projections 
used in the bed moldings of the cornices in the Ionic, Corin- 
thian and Composite orders. 

Die. — The main body of a pedestal. 

Dome. — The hemispherical or concave ceiling over a circu- 
lar or polygonal building. 

Door Frame. — The surrounding case into and out of which 
the door shuts and opens. It consists of twc upright pieces 
and a head, strongly fixed together, worked, rebated and 
beaded. 

Doric Order. — One of the five orders of Roman architec- 
ture. 

Dormer. — A window placed on the inclined plane of the 
roof, or against a Mansard roof above the main cornice, the 
window frame vertical. 

Dovetail. — A joint described at page 34. A poor joint for 
timber where there is much strain, as it is apt to pull out. 

Draught. — ^A drawing. 

Drum. — The upright part of a cupola over the dome. 

Eaves. — The margin or lower part of the slating or shing- 
ling hanging over the waU, thereby throwing the water off 
from it. 

Elbows. — The sides or flanks of any paneled work. 

Entablature. — The assemblage of parts supported by col- 
umn ; it consists of architrave, freize and cornice, although 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 91 

commonly the three parts are all included by the mechanic 
under the name of cornice. 

Facade. — The face or front of any building ; the front ele- 
vation of a building is a facade, 

Facia. — ^A flat plain member in a cornice or elsewhere. 

FiLiiET. — A small square member placed above or below the 
various square or curved members in an order. 

FiNiAii. — The ornamental top or finishing on a gable. 

Finishing. — A term applied to the joiner's work in the in- 
terior of a building. 

Flashing. — Pieces of tin or other metal let into joints to 
lap over gutters, &c. , as about chimneys ; the broad pieces 
of tin laid in the valleys of a slate or shingle roof are flash- 
ings. 

FiiUE. — The open aperture of a chimney inside from the 
fire place to top of shaft. 

Footings. — The spreading course at the base or foundation 
of a wall. 

Feaming. — The rough timber work of a house. 

Frieze. — The middle flat member of a cornice. The term 
is often applied where the architrave is absent. 

FuKNiruEE. — The external metal or porcelain work of locks, 
knobs of doors, window fastenings, &c. 

FuEKiNGS. — The thin pieces of wood required to bring out 
an irregular surface to a fair and straight face, a§ an uneven 
piece of wall, or a ceiling in which some of the joists are wider 
tha.n others, or are bent and sagged. 

FuBEiNG (Fr. Fourrer, to thrust in). — To apply furrings as 
above. 

Gable. — The upright triangular piece of wall at each end 
of a roof, from the level of the eaves to the summit. 

Gain. — The beveled shoulder of a binding joist. 

GiRDKR. — The principal beam in a floor for supporting the 
binding joists. 

Gouge. — A chisel whose section is of semi-circular form. 

Grounds. — Pieces of wood placed about openings, as doors 
or windows, so that when the walls are plastered the edge of 
the ground will be flush with the finished plaster ; the wooden 
finishing can thus be attached to the gTounds without injuring 
the plaster. 

Half Round. — A semi-circular molding. 

Header. — The beam which heads the other floor joists at a 
stairway, or other opening in the floor. It is generally hung 
by stirrup irons to a trimmer at each end, and both headers 



92 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

and trimmers should be double the thickness of the other 
floor joists. 

Heading Joist. — A joint at right angles to grain of wood ; 
the end joints of each plank against the next in length in a 
floor are heading joints. 

Headway. — The clear distance between the top of a step 
to the under side of the ceiling, under the trimmer beam ; 
.should always be 8 feet at least. 

Hip Roof. — One that slopes four ways, thus forming angles 
called hips. 

Impost. — The capital of a pilaster supporting an arch. 

Ionic. — One of the orders of classical architecture. 

Jack Raptee. — A timber shorter than the whole length of 
other rafters in the same range. 

Jack Sceew. — ^A portable machine for raising great weights 
by the agency of a screw. 

Jambs. — The sides of an opening through the wall, as door, 
window and fire-place jambs. 

Joists. — The timbers to which the plank for a floor, or the 
lath for ceiling are nailed, 

Keef. — The opening or narrow slit made by sawing. 

KJEY. — A piece of wood let into the back of another in the 
contrary direction from the grain to prevent it from warping. 

Kjng Post. — The middle post of a framed truss for sup- 
porting the iie beam at the middle and the lower ends of the 
struts. 

Lath. — A narrow sUp of wood, 1^ to 1^^ wide, 3^ to ^ in. 
thick, and 4 ft. long, used in plastering. 

Level. — A horizontal surface ; a surface which inclines to 
neither side. 

Lintkl. — A piece of timber, iron, or stone placed horizon- 
tally over a door, window or other opening. 

Manteij. — The work over and at the side of a fire-place in 
front of chimney, especially a narrow shelf on top. 

Mezzanine. — ^A low story introduced between two principal 
stories. 

Mitee. — ^A joint formed along the diagonal line where the 
ends of two pieces are united at an angle with each other. 

MoDHiUON. — An ornament in the entablature of the richer 
orders resembling a bracket. 

MoETiSE. — A hole cut in one piece for receiving the tenon 
which projects from another piece. 

MuijMon. — The upright bar which divides a window into 
several lights. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 93 

Newel Post. — The post, plain or ornamental, placed at the 
first or lowest step, to receive or start the hand rail upon. 

Nosing of Steps. — The rounded projecting edges of the 
treads of the steps. 

Ogee ob Ogive. — The same as Cyma, which see. 

Okdee. — An assemblage of parts, consisting of a base, 
shaft, capital, architrave, frieze and cornice ; these parts are 
ail proportioned to each other ; the unit of measure being 
the lower diameter of shaft. There are five orders of classi- 
cal architecture, namely Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian 
and Composite, the proper understanding and application of 
which constitute the foundation of excellence in that art. 

Out op Wind, (pronounced wynd). — Perfectly straight or 
flat. 

OvoiiO. — A projecting convex molding of quarter of a circle, 
a quarter round. 

Panel. — A thin piece of wood framed or received in a 
groove between two upright pieces or stiles and two trans- 
verse pieces or rails. Any sunk or recessed space in a plane 
surface. 

Panel Saw. — ^A saw made for cutting very thin wood ; the 
blade is about 26 in. long, and it has 6 teeth to the inch. 

Parget. — The plastering used for coating the internal sur- 
face of chimneys. 

Parting Steip. — The strip inserted in the center of the 
pulley stile of a window to keep apart the upper and lower 
sashes. 

Pedestal. — An insulated basement or support for a column, 
statue or vase ; it usually consists of the three parts, base, die 
and cornice. 

Pediment. — The low triangular crowning ornament of the 
front of a building, or of a door, window or niche. 

Pekch. — A measure of stone wall, correctly 23^ cubic feet 
of wall, but in many parts of the country masons call 16^ 
cubic feet of wall a perch. 

Pilaster. — A square column projecting from the face of a 
wall ; an antea. 

Piles. — Large timbers pointed at the end and driven in the 
earth to make a foundation to build on in soft ground ; im- 
properly called spiles. 

PiLLAE. — A pier or support of irregular form, the propor- 
tions of which are not subject to the rules of classic architec- 
ture ; hence the distinction between a pillar and a column. 

Pitch of a Eoof. — The inclination which the sloping sides 



94 , THE HOME MECHANIC. 

make with the level of the wall plates ; when a roof is half 
pitch, the hight of the top of the gable or ridge from the 
wall plate is half the width of the bunding ; when it is a third 
pitch it is one third, &c. 

Plan. — A draught or representation on paper of any pro- 
jected work. 

PiiANCEEK. — The under surface of the corona in the cornice ; 
also a soffit, which see. 

Planted. — A projecting member worked on a separate piece 
of stuff, and afterward fixed in its place, is said to be planted, 
as a planted molding. 

Plate. — A horizontal piece of timber in a wall, generally 
flush with the inside face thereof, for the reception of the 
ends of beams, joists or rafters. 

Plinth. — The square solid serving as base of a column, 
pedestal or wall. 

Plow. — A carpenter's grooving tool. 

Plumb. — Perpendicular, that is, standing according to a 
plumb line. 

PBiNcrPALS OB Principal Raftees. — ^Those which are larger 
than the common rafters, and which are framed at their lower 
ends into the tie beam, and at their upper ends are either 
united at the king post, or made to bear against the ends of 
the straining beams where queen posts are used. The prin- 
cipals support the purlins which again carry the common 
rafters, and thus the whole weight of the roof is sustained by 
the principals. Principals are only used in roofs of large 
buildings where it is desired to have a clear open space with- 
out columns, as in churches, pubhc halls or theaters. 

Profile. — The outline or contour of anything, such as a 
building, figure, or molding. 

Projection. — The jutting out of certain parts of a building 
beyond the face of the wall, as the projection of a cornice, &c. 

Pulley Stiles. — The stile or side of window frame in which 
the pulleys are fixed. 

Purlin. — A piece of timber laid horizontally resting on the 
principals of a roof to support the common rafters. 

Rabbet. — See Rebate. 

Rafters. — Inclined timbers in sides of a roof. 

Rails. — The horizontal piece in framed work which re- 
ceives the upper and lower edges of the panels. 

Rake. — Slope or inclination. 

Ramp. — A concave bend in the capping of a piece of work ; 
thus in stairs it is that concavity which occurs over risers, or 



THC HOME MECHANIC. 95 

over a half or quarter space by the sudden rise of the steps. 

Rebate. — A square channel or recess sunk in the edge of a 
board. 

Return Bead. — One which shows the same appearance on 
the face and erlge of a piece of stuff, forming a double quirk. 

Roof. — The cover of a building irresp active of the material 
of which it is composed. 

Sap Wood. — The external part of the wood, that part last 
formed between the bark and the solid matter. For building 
purposes the> sap wood should be removed from timber «ind 
lumber, as it decays more quicldy than the other, and in fin- 
ished work stains through and discolors the paint. 

Sash. — The framed part of a window in which the glass is 
fixed. 

Sash Frame. — The frame in which the sash runs up and 
down, or to which it* is hinged. When the sash is hung, the 
frame is made hollow to contain the balancing weights, and is 
said to be a box frame. 

Sash Cokd. — The line by which the sash is suspended to 
the balancing weight. 

ScANTiiENG. — A general name for small timbers, such as the 
quarterings for a partition, rafters, purlins or pole plates in a 
roof. 

Scotia. — A hollow molding. 

Scktbe. — To mark so as to fit one piece to another. 

Scutcheon. — The ornamental bit of metal or porcelain with 
key hole in it, placed over the key hole in the door, &c. 

Section. — The representation of a building supposed to be 
cut open from top to bottom, showing the hight of the stories, 
thickness of walls, floors and timbers, and the construction of 
the roof ; also the arches, domes, &c. 

Shaft.— The body of a column between the base and cap- 
ital. 

Shake. — ^Fissures or rents in timber caused by the bending 
over of the trees in heavy gales of wind, by which the fibers 
are torn apart and slide on each other. 

Sheizl Bit. — A boring tool, shaped like a gouge, used with 
the brace in boring wood ; it removes the wood almost as a 
soHd core. 

Shoot. — To plane straight, or fit by planing as to shoot a 
joint. 

Shore. — A piece of timber placed so as to prop up a wall 
or other body. 

Simj. — The horizontal piece of timber at the bottom of a 



96 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

house frame, which rests on the piers or foundations and sup- 
ports the wall studs and floor joists. Also the bottom piece 
in a window or door frame. 

SmaLE Hung. — Applied to a window with two sash when 
one only is movable. 

Site. — The position or seat of a building ; the place where 
it stands. 

Skieting. — Base board ; the board placed about the room 
against the wall, just above the floor. 

SiiEEPEKS. — Pieces of timber laid in the ground in cellars, 
&c. , on which to fasten floor plank. 

Soffit. — The under side of a lintel ; the ceiling of an 
opening, as a door or window ; also the under horizontal 
surface of an architrave between columns, and the under sur- 
face of the corona of a cornice. 

Span. — The width between the supports of a row or arch is 
said to be its span. 

Specification. — A statement of particulars, describing the 
manner of executing any work about to be undertaken, and 
the quality, dimensions and peculiarities of the materials to 
be used. 

SpHiEs. — See Piles. 

Splay. — A sloped surface, or a surface which make an 
oblique angle with another ; as when the opening for a door 
or window widens in toward the room it is said to be a splayed 
opening. A large chamfer is called a splay. 

Spoke Shave. — A sort of small plane used for dressing the 
spukes of wheels, and other curved work, where the common 
plane cannot be applied. 

Spoon Bit. — AhoUow bit with a taper point for boring wood. 

Springek. — The j^oint where the upright support of an arch 
terminates and the curve begins. 

Square. — A work is said to be square framed or framed 
square, when the framing has all the angles of its stiles, rails, 
and mountings square without being molded. 

Standard. — Any upright framing. 

Step. — The tread and riser taken together from one step; 
the tread is the top of the step, the riser the front. 

Sticking. — The operation of forming moldings by the plane, 
in distinction from carving them out by hand with the gouge 
or chisel. 

Stock and Bit. — See Brace. 

Stops. — Pieces of wood nailed on the frame of a door 
when the frame has no rebate worked in the jambs to form 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 97 

the recess or rebate into wliicli the door shuts ; also pieces 
fastened in base boards behind doors to keep the knobs from 
touching and injuring the plaster when the door is opened 
wide. 

Stoby. — A stage or floor of a building. The distance from 
the top of one floor to the top of the one above. 

String. — The boards or plank under and supporting stairs, 
sometimes cut out to receive the steps and risers ; in which 
case they are open strings ; when the steps and risers are let 
into the strings, they are said to be housed in the strings, 
and the latter are then called dose stinngs. 

Stkhb Mortise. — One which does not pass through the 
whole thickness of the material. 

Stuck Moldings. — Those formed by planes instead of be- 
ing wrought out by hand. 

Studs. — The timbers used in lath and plaster partitions 
and walls, and placed either 12 or 16 inches apart, as it is de- 
sired that a lath, which is 4 feet long may have 4 or 5 nailings 
in its length ; studs may be of various sizes from 2 x 4 to 4 x 6. 

Summer. — A lintel, a girder. 

SuRBASE. — The crowning molding or cornice of a pedestal ; 
the moldings immediately above the base of a room. 

Tail Trimmer. — A trimmer next to the wall into which the 
ends of joists are fastened to avoid flues. 

Templet. — A pattern used by joiners to cut miters by on 
small beads, &c. 

Tenon. — The end of a piece of wood which is cut in a 
square shape and is received into a cavity in another piece of 
wood. 

Tie-Beam. — The beam which connects the feet of a pair of 
principal rafters in a roof, and prevents them from thrusting 
out the wall. 

Timber. — ^That sort of wood which is squared or capable of 
being squared, and fit to be employed in house building and 
carpentry. 

Top Rail. — The highest rail in a piece of framing. 

Torus. — A large molding with semi-circular section ; differs 
from astragal in being larger. 

Transom. — The bar separating the door from the fanhght 
above it. 

Transom- Sash. — A fanlight. 

Tread. — The horizontal surface of a step. 

Trimming- Joists. — The joists thicker than the other joists, 
into which the trimmer is framed. 



98 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Truss. — An arrangement of timber and iron so combined as 
to make an unyielding frame ; so named because it is trussed 
or tied together. See Roof. 

Tuscan. — The lirst and simplest of the five orders of Ro- 
man or classical architecture. 

Valley-Raftee. — The rafter in the re-entrant angle of a 
roof. 

Veneee. — A facing of thin wood, generally a superior wood 
laid over a common material. 

Veranda. — An open portico or light external gaUery, with 
sloping roof, supported on slender pillars. 

Wainscot. — The wood' work lining the sides of the room, 
generally from 2 to 6 feet high, with molded capping ; often 
paneled. 

Wash-Board. — The base board about a room. 

Weathee-Boarding.^ — Boards nailed to the wall studs on 
the outside of a wooden house, with a lap on each other to 
prevent the penetration of rain and snow. 

WEijii-HoiiE, — In a flight of stairs, the space left in the 
middle beyond the end of the steps. 

Wind (pronounced wynde). — To cast or warp ; to turn or 
twist any surface, so that all its parts do not lie in the same 
plane. 

Winders. — Those steps of a stair which, radiating from a 
center, are narrower at one end than the other. 

Westg. — ^A small part or building attached to the side of the 
main edifice. 




/ 

THE HOME MECHANIC. 99 

PAINTING 

IN ITS VARIOUS BRANCHES. 



THE EVILS OF PAINTING, AND THEIB 

REMEDY. 

It has been said, and with much truth, too, that *' House- 
painting might, with study, and acquirement of correct taste 
and more extensive information, resume its rank as a liberal 
art." There is no reason why it should not. It is an art, 
and should be recognized as such, and will be when the 
painter shall have sufficient interest to do something more 
for its elevation. It is at a low ebb at present ; for, while 
the various other branches of the fine arts have their elab- 
orate volumes of reference, and Art Journals of deep re- 
search and investigation, and latest discoveries and improve- 
ments, for the benefit of their artists, the house and sign 
painter and the grainer are left to their own resources, to 
catch what they may by individual experiment and the 
careful observation of their own mistakes. 

Though America may boast of many excellent painters, 
who may not be excelled on the earth, yet they are almost 
lost amid the vast multitude of ordinary, indifferent, and 
miserable ones. The long apprenticeship and practice of 
the former seem almost thrown away, for they stand a very 
little better chance, in the aggregate of success, than others 
who have spent little or no time in the study of the busi- 
ness. A poor workman can and will work cheaper t^n a 
food one ; and, consequc itly, competition comes inU ^er* 

(7> 



100 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

vice, and the finished workmen are obliged to learn theii 
trade more thoroughly, that is, learn the art of alighting^ 
before they are able to cope with their competitors, and 
obtain, like them, an honest living. This spirit is caught 
up by the employer, and, in the rage to get everything 
cheap in this go-ahead age, the lowest bidder, without regard 
to quality, too often gets the job ; so, many good and 
poor workmen naturally fall into that uncertain and unsub- 
stantial manner of doing work that ^ characterizes all the 
sham, slop-shop works of decorative art. It must not be 
understood, however, that these remarks have only a limited 
reference, for there are both painters and employers who 
well understand these practices, and whose correct taste — 
and liberal pockets — keep them mindful of the purity of the 
art of decoration. And, in justice to the inferior workmen, 
it may be remarked that it is not so much a fault with them 
as it is a want of facilities for learning. There are no pub- 
lished books of any utility ; and then painters are very chary 
of their knowledge, and do not like to impart it too freely. 

There should be a remedy for this evil, and there can be. 
Painters should be more communicative, and not be so tena- 
cious of whatever superior method they may have acquired 
or discovered. It is quite a mistaken idea that one's busi- 
ness would be injured by discovering the secret of a superior 
method to his brother painter. If all this secret knowledge 
was more generally diffused among the craft, the benefit 
would be mutual. Knowledge should not be monopolized, 
but should be imparted to all alike, and all alike would be 
benefited. A better style of work would be the result of 
such a reciprocity, and better prices would be realized 
(which is a feature devoutly lo be wished by a class of 
painters, who, as a whole, are no more than half paid for 
their labor, in a vocation so deleterious to health). It 
would require more time and labor, and just as many hand» 
be enxployed, and the trade would then be worth learning. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 101 

However, one is not to blame, if he has made any dis- 
covery which has cost him time and money, should he wish 
to keep it a secret, or patent it, until he can make his 
money out of it ; yet, in all minor matters, it is not only 
Qeighborly to instruct one another, but is really an honor to 
the craft. 

The art of painting, in all its various branches, is, per' 
haps, under present regulations, quite as injurious to health 
as almost any other branch of mechanical business, espe- 
cially house and general shop-painting. 

It is supposed that painters, in the aggregate, pay an in- 
terest on their life of about twenty-four per cent. ; that is, 
they shorten their lives about two months every year for the 
privilege of following the noxious business, and getting a 
taste of the colic every other moon. In fact, it is statisti- 
cally true that the average lives of painters do not come 
up to the average standard of longevity. 

It is well known that painting is an unhealthy business 
and to such an extent is this prejudice abroad, that it is 
with difficulty, in some places, that master workmen can 
procure an apprentice. 

The house-painter is much more exposed, and liable to 
the poisonous effects of colors, than those who follow other 
branches, on account of the large quantities of vapor ex- 
haled from lead and the arsenious greens, especially that 
most brilliant but deadly color, emerald green. This poi- 
sonous color, as all arsenious preparations will, gives out 
exceedingly large quantities of vapor, the inhalation of 
which will very suddenly show itself, an-^ is quite often 
mistaken for some other disease, and frequently, by physi- 
cians, so treated. It causes inflammation of the throat and 
lungs, and produces, in different parts of the body, small 
watery pustules, which are exceedingly troublesome. We 
have known painters to be so afflicted with this affection upon 



102 TffiE HOME MECHANIC. 

their breast, groins, and armpits, that they were unable, fof 
several days together, to move a limt without great incon- 
venience and pain. 

In England, where much more of this green is used, it 
has been ascertained from actual observation, and the expe- 
rience of physicians and other scientific men, that a series 
of diseases the most complicated have resulted from hav- 
ing the walls of houses washed, painted, or papered with 
arsenious greens. Cases have been known where whole 
families have been poisoned by living within the walls of 
such houses. 

Copper, arsenic, and lead are exceedingly volatile, and 
those persons immured within the walls covered with them 
are so perfectly enveloped with the vapor arising therefrom 
that they are continually inhaling it, greatly to their detri- 
ment. 

A very singular case (and a remarkable and unmistaka- 
ble evidence of the noxious effects of arsenious vapor) 
occurred in England a few years ago. A family, a short 
time after moving into a certain house, were taken suddenly 
and violently sick. A physician was sent for, who pro- 
nounced it a case of poisoning from arsenic. The patients 
were relieved, but lingered on for some time, and, finding 
they did not recover their health, left the building. An- 
other family moved into the tenement, and were at- 
tacked in like manner ; still other persons occupied the 
rooms, and the same results followed, until, at last, it was 
alleged that the house was haunted, and Madam Rumor 
set about making up the legends. But science eventually 
got hold of the matter, when, by investigation, the premises 
were known to have formerly been occupied by painters, 
who were accordingly called upon, when it was asjertaincd 
that previous to leaving the house they had buried a large 
goautity of refuse arsenic three feet deep, in the bottom 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 103 

ot tba cellar. The deadly drug was removed, and peoplt 
ir«re no longer haunted with this arsenious ghost. 

A 'most every painter is familiar with the noxious effecta 
of lead, esj>ecially when cooped up in a close room, with 
drawn flatting^ and perhaps the keyholes stopped up. Few 
there are who can work three hours thus, who will not, od 
coming to the fresh air, almost immediately fall, or stagger 
as though they had imbibed something of a different nature 
from turpentine. This part of the business will soon produce 
jhe painter's colic, and eventually paralyze, unless much care 
be taken to guard against it. 

In England, benefit has been experienced in cases of 
painter's or lead colic, both by those who manufacture and 
those who use white lead, in the use of sulphuric acid in 
very small quantities. One way of using it is to put one 
dram of acid into ten pints of table or spruce beer, or mild 
ale ; to shake it up well, and allow it to stand a few hours. 
A tumbler-full twice or three times a day is used. An- 
other way, not so convenient, is to make the beer as follows : 
Take of molasses, 14 pounds ; bruised ginger, ^ pound ; 
coriander seed, ^ ounce ; capsicum and cloves, ^ ounce 
each ; water, 12^ gallons ; yeast, 1 pint. Put the yeast in 
last, and let it ferment. When the fermentation has nearly 
ceased, add 1^ ounces of oil vitriol mixed with 12 ounces 
of water, and 1^ ounces bi-carbonate of soda dissolved in 
water. Fit to drink in three or four days. 

The painter is often asked what the painter's colic feela 
like. He could not, probably, describe it better than to 
say to those who do not wish to try the experiment, that if 
the strands of a rope, while being twisted together, should be 
jiassed through the bowels horizontally, and the whole ab- 
dominal viscera be twisted with it, a faint idea lu^ht b« 
formed of the lead colic. 



104 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

CuBAin:.INES8. 

The painter, in general, pays quite too little care and «t> 
tention to personal cleanliness, and, thereby, to his health. 
One will frequently work for half a day with flatting, daub 
and spatter himself till he looks as though some one had been 
practising granite on him, and when noon comes, without 
washing, sit down in the same room where he has been 
working and eat a cold dinner, highly seasoned with car 
bonate of lead and turpentine ! It is no wonder ihef are 
sick. Can any one imagine a reason why they should not 
be? 

A journeyman house-painter of Boston, who was subject 
to attacks of the colic, applied to a celebrated physician of 
that city in the hopes of obtaining an antidote, or at least a 
preventive of this complaint. The doctor ordered him to 
pay particular attention to washing his face and hands, and 
rinsing his mouth before eating, change of clothing, &c. 
This course the painter adopted ; but it lasted only while 
the memory of the colic pains was fresh in his mind. In 
the course of a year the order was forgotten, and he back^ 
slid from his cleanliness, until he slid his back upon the 
bed. The doctor was again called, prescribed again, which 
was followed by the same practice and the same results^ 
and the painter was once more brought to bed, from which 
he rose not again. 

A few years ago there was a painter in Cincinnati who 
was 80 used up from the effects of lead and abuse, that ho 
was unable, sometimes for eighteen months, to walk ; and 
iuring his best days he waddled along with such an uncer- 
tain, ungainly motion, that it was difficult to tell whether 
he was walking backwards or forwards ; in fact, he seemed 
to be trying to do both at the same time. 

Now the niult lay chiefly with himself. He was in th« 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



105 



habit of " sprceing" pretty often, and he confessed thut he 
had worked, with flatting, for three successive weeks with 
DO other nourishment than what few crackers he took to 
'* wash down the whiskey," slept in the paint-shop, and did 
Bot wash his hands during the whole time. The greatest 
wonder is that he could live in any shape. 

The above is no guess-work, but the cases are bona fide 
ones, and very remarkable, and we are happy to say rare 
cases of neglect and uncleanness among painters ; yet 
we cannot help thinking that they suggest the idea that soap 
and water are cheap and convenient, and are worth more 
than all the pills and powders in Christendom. 

Another great source of trouble is, suffering the color to 
accumulate under the finger-nails, and there remain till it is 
dry, and rattles out into the food, and thence into the stom- 
ach. Now an occasional dose of this might, perhaps, on the 
homoeopathic principle of infinitesimality, drive out of the 
system the accumulated lead ; but the mischief of it is, if 
the principle is homoeopathic, the doses are allopathic ; and 
as these two systems are at loggerheads at present, it is not 
prudent that the painter should attempt in this manner to 
harmonize them. 

It is a very easy matter to preserve the clothes, and thereby 
in a great measure the health. It should be a part of the 
trade, which, when once learned, is just as easy to practise 
as it is to swing the brush; and if the master painters 
would have an eye to this, they would not only find it an 
advantage to themselves, but a great blessing to their ap- 
prentices. It is true that some are bom with a natural 
taste for the art — for neatness is an art — and some have 
to acquire it ; but it can be acquired, and should be, just an 
much as any part of the trade. 

These may be considered small matters to write about ; 
but let the old painter, if such a being can be found, lock 



106 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

back At the past, and he will teU you they are great mat- 
ters. 

Those painters who are confined to shops are fully as 
liable to paint-poison, though of a different nature, as they 
deal more largely in dry colors. And here, again, another 
error presents itself. Their shops are usually poorly venti- 
lated, being oftentimes in cellars and basements, from which 
the vapors scarcely have a chance to escape, and thus the 
individual is continually inhaling the poisons arising from 
the everlasting messes of colors, and the newly-painted 
work ; also by grinding and mixing. 

Now the most of these troubles of the shop workmen can 
be avoided. In the first place, the shop should be well ven- 
tilated. It can easily be done by partitioning off a small 
room, or cupboard, for the keeping of all the colors, dry 
and mixed, from which, as well as the room occupied, a 
pipe or conductor should extend to the open air. The best 
ventilator is the Air Siphon, a late scientific discovery. It 
consists of an inverted siphon, which may be a tube of tin, 
wood, or other material, or a stove-pipe, six inches in di- 
ameter, made in the shape of a semicircle, or like the 
rounded elbow of a stove-pipe ; the legs of it • should be 
from twelve to twenty inches in length. This should be 
inserted in the chimney, with the two open ends up, the 
chimney answering for the longer leg of the siphon. All 
foul or vitiated air very rapidly escapes through this, 
thereby very thoroughly ventilating the apartment. This 
air siphon is highly useful for ventilation, and should every' 
where be adopted. 

In regard to inhaling the dust from grinding the dry 
eolors, it is probably quite as cheap, if the time is consid- 
ered, to use the colors which come ready ground in tubes. 

It should be well understood that most mineral colors, 
when mixed with oil, turpentine, or any fatty matter, throw 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 107 

off exceedingly large quantities of vapor, whiiih, being iik 
haled and passing into the lungs, is forced through th« 
capillaries into every part of the system, giving rise to 
many unpleasant and dangerous disorders. A portion, too, 
is absorbed by the skin, but this cannot so well be avoided ^ 
the practical neglect and carelessness, however, can. The 
former Nature can combat with and recover from, but th« 
additional force of the latter, with all its retinue of auxil- 
iaries, is too much, and the victim to carelessness is, sooner 
or later, overcome, and forced to yield to superior power, 
and finally drops into his grave, or remains a cripple, and 
hobbles around in its immediate vicinity. 

We shall now close this division by recommending 

A FEW Rules to bb observed. 

Avoid spattering, for it is unpleasant as well as danger- 
ous to be continually enveloped in robes of poisonous paint. 

Never attempt to eat or sleep without first washing the 
hands and face and rinsing the mouth. 

Wash the whole surface of the body at least once a week, 
with soft water. 

Keep the buckets, brushes, &c., clean, so that they maj 
he handled without smearing the hands. 

Every painter should wear overalls, or change his clothing 
throughout once a week at least, in the mean time thor^ 
oughly airing those he nas thrown ofi*. 

Keep the shops clean and well ventilated. 

Never sleep in a paint-shop, nor in a newly-painted room, 
nor paint the walls of a room with any of the metallic 
greens. 

Never suffer the paint to accumulate upon the clothing, 
oor under the finger nails. 

Never wash the hands in turpentine, as it relaxes thi 



X08 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

muscles and injures the joints. Any animal oil, or eyen lioi 
seed oil, is better. 

Never drink water that has stood any length of time in ■ 
paint-shop, or in a newly-painted room. 

Never use spirituous liquors (except prescribed by a 
physician), especially when ailing from the effect of paint, 
as it unites with the mineral salts and tends to harden them, 
and causes inflammation of the parts where they concrete. 

Milk, sweet oil, and the like, should be used freely, as 
they tend to soften the accumulated poisons, and carry 
them off. 

Vinegar and acid fruits, used constantly, unite with the 
/ead that may be in the stomach, chemically changing it to 
the acetate, or sugar of lead, which is by far the least dan- 
gerous. Acetate of lead is scarcely recognized, in medical 
jurisprudence, as a poison. 

Avoid breathing the dust when emptying papers of dry 
^lors. 

Make your smalts where there is a current of air ; and, 
while stirring, stand to the windward, th»t you may not 
'ffihale the smoke. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 1^9 



ANALYSIS OF COLORS. 



Thebe are several of the metals, the salts of which fbna 
4 good material for painting ; but that most extensively 
ued in the arts is lead. 



Nearly all whites have their base in the oxides and car 
bonates of different metals. 

White Lead is a carbonate of lead, prepared by submits 
ting common lead to the action of acetic acid, or vinegar, at 
a high temperature. It is poisonous, especially when com- 
bined with oils or fatty matter. 

The chief adulterations are barytes, whiting, and silicate 
of potash. 

Cabbonate of Babttes is less poisonous than lead ; it 
is certainly not as valuable, and has very little body, 
though it is whiter, and when combined with lead in proper 
proportions, makes a very good white, and does not injure 
the lead for ordinary purposes. The sulphate of barytes is 
often used in the cheaper leads, but is an inferior article. 

Zinc White is an oxide of zinc. It is a durable and 

beautiful white, besides being harmless. All the very best 

and finest work in the cities is now finished with zinc. It has 

less body than lead, but is vastly whiter and more durable, 

2 



110 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

.^d does not, like lead, turn yellow when erclnded finom 
the light and air. 

China Whttb is lead that has been elutriated, or washed, 
thereby freeing it from all impurities. 

Whiting is well known to all. It is a carbonate of lime. 
It is of no utility as a paint, as it will become spotted, and 
rubs off after the oil is evaporated. It is properly fit foi 
putty, and various room washes. 

Pearl White is generally used for the finer and more 
delicate branches of painting. It is a submuriate of bis- 
muth. 

Kbemlitz White is a superior quality of lead. There 
is little in the market at present, as the extensive manufac- 
tories at Krems have been abandoned. All German leads 
are considered the best, as their ores contain less iron. 

Silver White is also a lead prepared by elutriating. 
It is the best of the tube colors for general use. 

There are various other whites, mostly manufactured in 
Germany. 

Venice White is a mixture of equal parts of sulphate 
of barytes and lead. 

Hamburg White is two parts of baiytes and one of 
lead. 

Dutch White, three parts of barytes and one of lead. 

It will be perceived that these mixtures are of little utility 
to the painter. 



Yellows have their bases in iron, lead, quicksilver, and 
arsenic. 

Chrome Tellow. The best is made from chromium and 
acetate, or the nitrate of lead, and is properly a ohromat€ 



THE HOME MECHANIC. Ill 

of lead. An inferior article is prepared with whiting. The 
best now in use for general painting has its base in silicate 
of potash and barytes. 

Gamboge is the concrete juice of various trees in Ceylon. 
It is a transparent color, and consequently useful as a 
glazing color. 

Yellow Ochke is an earth. The best comes from 
France. 

Stone Ochbe is also an earth, found in many parts of 
Europe. 

Naples Yellow is an earth found near Naples, but 
most of that now in the market is composed of lead, alum, 
sal-ammonia, and antimony. It is a soft, bright, and dura- 
ble color. 

Turneb's Yellow, a muriate of lead. This is a beau- 
ti^ tint, and has formerly been much used among coach* 
painters. 

Beds have their bases in iron mostly, and some have 
supposed that all reds are dependent upon the presence of 
iron for their color. 

Carmine is kaolin, or China clay, colored with cochineal, 
and, being prepared with much difficulty, it is very expen- 
sive. A common article is composed of alum and cream of 
tartar, colored with cochineal. 

This color fades rapidly on exposure to the sun, and is of 
little use in out-door work. It is a rich, transparent color. 

Vermilion is composed of sulphur and quicksilver. The 
first quality, at present, comes from France, it being diffi- 
cult to get Chinese vermilion that is free from pulverized 
glass ; in £ftct, the greater portion of the Chinese vermiliPD 



112 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

now in the market is almost worthless in consequence of 
this adulteration. The English and American vermilions 
are cheaper, and inferior in color rather than quantity. 

Chrome Red, or American vermilion, as it is sometimes 
called, though not so fine a color when first used, is much 
cheaper than vermilion; being one fifth the price ; it stands 
exposure much better, retaining its hue long after the best 
Chinese has turned brown. For this reason it is much 
better adapted to all out-door painting. Its composition is 
saltpetre and chrome yellow, produced by a process of heat- 
ing and washing. 

Rose Pink is nothing more than whiting, tinctured with 
Brazil wood, and is of little service in out-door painting, as 
it immediately fades on exposure to light. It is cheap, and 
being transparent, does very well for a glaze for chairs or 
other furniture. 

Red Lead, or red oxide of lead, is of more use in boil- 
ing in oil to make it dry than anything else. It is not 
much used among painters on account of its fading quality, 
though it is used in some compound mixtures. With 
chrome yellow, it makes a rich ground for mahogany. It 
is a durable color, and is therefore preferred by wheel- 
wrights for painting wagons. 

Madder Lake is the only lake that does not fade. A 
fine, transparent glaze for beautiful and delicate work, 
but too expensive for common work. Its composition is 
alam and soda, or silicate of potash, or kaolin colored with 
madder. 

Venetian Red is an earth, found in various parts of th« 
world. It is the principal body used for all common pur 
poses. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 113 



Copper is the base of most blues, though some are formed 
from iron and cobalt. 

Prussian Blue is properly a ferrocyanuret of iron, pro- 
duced by various processes. As a vehicle, dried or cal- 
ciued blood and horns and hoofs are used. 

There are other methods, where animal matter is not 
used, in which pearlash, coke, and iron-filings form the 
compound. It is also chemically prepared with sulphate 
of iron and prussiate of potash ; but in all these prepara- 
tions the composition is iron and prussic acid. The prussic 
acid, however, is not in sufficient quantity to make the color 
in the least degree poisonous. 

Ultramabine. This beautiful blue was formerly made 
from lazulite, the beautiful variegated blue mineral, and 
was once worth, in Italy, twenty-five dollars an ounce. 
That used in the arts now is composed of carbonate of soda, 
sulphur, and kaolin, colored with cobalt. 

This color has but little body as an oil color, but is of a 
most brilliant hue, and wears about as well as the Prussian 
olue. In oil it is a transparent color, but is more dense in 
distemper, and covers better. 



GrlELlBlJBllS&. 

All mineral greens have their bases in copper, and some 
of them contain arsenic. 

Brunswick or Bremen Green is a compound of car* 
bonate of copper and chalk, and the best has a portion of 
lead. 

This is a fine, lasting green, and is much more neglected 



114 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

than it should be. It is less poisonous than niost greens, At 
it contains little or no arsenic. When used alone, it is oi 
^)0 blue a cast, but being lightened up with light chrome, 
or lemon chrome yellow, it makes a green almost equal tri 
Amerald, both in brilliancy and durability, and has a softer, 
pleasanter tone. An equal quantity of emerald mixed with 
it increases its brilliancy. 

ScHEELE*s Green is composed of acetate of copper and 
arseniate of potash. It is very poisonous, without being 
redeemed by beauty or durability. 

EmeraIiD Green. This intensely brilliant color is a 
compound of yellow arsenic and verdigris, and consequently 
the most deadly poison with which painters have to deal. 
Some years ago, when verdigris was in vogue, painters 
complained of the deleterious effect of that miserable color 
but they may now well find fault when they are obliged to 
stand the ravages of the combined force of that and arsenic 
also. It was first discovered and manufactured in France, 
and has only been in use a few years, and it is to be hoped 
that its future existence wiU be as brief as its past ; for its 
effects upon the people who have their rooms painted, washed, 
and papered with it are almost as bad as upon the painter 
who uses it. 

Chrome Green was formerly made from the blue oxide of 
chromium, but that which is now mostly in use is a com- 
pound of potash, sulphur, and chromic acid. Some facto- 
ries, however, are now preparing it from the chemical 
Prussian blue and chrome yellow. 

This is a very soft, rich, and durable color, but in thi 
rage for the glaring emerald, it has been much overlooked. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 115 



Browns generally depend upon iron for their grades of 
dnt. 

Umbeb is an earth found in Turkey and the Island oi' 
Cyprus. Both in its raw and burnt state it forms one o( 
the best body browns we have. It is a valuable article io 
graining oak and black-walnut. 

Terra de Sienna, as its name indicates, is an earth 
found in the neighborhood of Sienna, Italy. Raw and 
burnt, it is a rich, transparent color. The raw makes a 
good grain color for maple and satin-wood, the burnt for 
mahogany, and both are good colors for glazing, and for 
shading on gold. 

These are the browns mostly in use, though Vandyke 
Brown is useful in graining the darker woods ; yet Terra 
de Sienna, umber, and ivory black are sufficient for all com- 
mon purposes. 

Mineral Brown is made by mixing equal parts, in 
water, of sulphate of copper and prussiate of potash, and 
then evaporating the water. It is a bright, yellowish 
transparent brown, similar to raw Sienna. 

Spanish Brown is a miserable, dull coloi, and not of 
much utility. 

Lamp Black is merely the smoke from various sub 
stances. The best is from coal tar. This is the best blaclt 
for all common painting. 

Ivory Black, or bone black, is only charred bone. It 
has not the body, nor does it work as freely as lamp black. 

Drop Black. Either of the above may be washed, oi 



116 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

elutriated, and thsn dried in drops. It is the purest fonxif 
and useM in the finer portions of painting. 

AsPHALTUM, although so very transparent, is, when sev- 
eral coats are laid on, a most intense black, but not of much 
service when exposed to the weather. It is best used dis- 
solved in turpentine, slightly warm, with or without a little 
boiled oil. Without the oil, it dries very quick ; with it, 
much slower. It makes the black varnish used for japanning 
tin and other metals. Gum asphaltum is gathered from the 
surface of the Dead Sea, or the Lake Asphaltites, in 
Judea. 

Bemarhs. — The best colors are generally the cheapest. 
The best test is comparison. Look at the best and the 
poorest : the difference will be manifest. 



The glass smalts are made by grinding glass that con 
tains some mineral coloring matter. 

Blue Shalt is ground glass, colored with cobalt in the 
furnace. 

Green Smalt. There are no green smalts manufactured 
which are of much use. A bright green smalt may be 
made by heating white sand almost to a red heat, and then 
putting in, while hot, equal parts of emerald and Brunswick 
green, mixed with boiled oil and a liti le turpentine. A suf- 
ficient quantity of color must be used to color the sand a 
rich green. It should be stirred till nearly dry, and thcD 
spread out for drying, with occasional stirring till it is quite 
dry and well separated, and then sifted. Much care should 
be observed in doing this, as the arsenic and copper contained 
in the green will play the mischief with one's throat and 
lungs. It is best to be in a draught of air, and stand to the 
windward. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 117 

Red Smalt can only be obtained by the same process aa 
above, using chrome red for coloring. The sand must not 
be heated so hot as for green. The sand for both of thes« 
smalts should be pure and white. 

Brown Smalt. A rather poor article comes in the 
shape of ground glass, but a better article may be made as 
above, using vandyke, or any of the browns, to color with, 
changing the tone to suit the fancy, with chrome or venetiau 
red. 

Black Sihalt. The common black sand answers well, 
and is much used for smalting. It is, however, a dark gray 
If required to be a jet black, it may be made as above, 
using lampblack to color the sand. 

Frosting. Glass blown very thin, and then crumbled 
fine, gives a beautiful, sparkling, diamonded appearance to 
smalted grounds. The white frost is the best, and may be 
obtained at the glass factory, and sometimes at the drug 
stores. 

Flock is the fine shearing of colored woolen cloths. It 
is greatly superior to any smalt, especially for in-door work, 
and has latterly almost superseded all other finishes for 
sizing, &c. Almost any grade of color or tint may be ob- 
tained, yet the black is the most durable. 

Remarks, — Much care should be used in making these 
smalts, by keeping them well stirred during the heating, 
and after they are spread out to dry, or they will be apt to 
dry in lumps. The best way is, after it is cold, to run it 
through a coarse sieve. Where any quantity of it is made, 
it should not be packed away for a few days. 

Black smalt will keep almost any length of time, but the 
colored smalts will be more apt to fade and grow dull 
These latter shoidd be kept from the light and air as mnc) 
as possible. 



118 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



Japan Vabnish, made with gum shellac, umber, red 
lead; litharge, sugar of lead, white vitriol, mangauese, and 
patent dryers which have their base in the above, are aU 
good dryers. Some drying quality, also, has been imputed 
to the onion when boiled in linseed oil. There may be 
gome truth in it, though we have never found it of any 
value. The idea has probably grown out of the fact that 
Bome persons used to immerse an onion in the kettle of oil 
while boiling, as a test. The oil, when sufficiently boiled, 
would scorch the onion. 



Although many vegetable oils have been introduced to 
the consideration of the painter, yet Linseed Oil still holds 
the preeminence for general painting. 

Hemp-Seed Oil, Corn Oil, Sunflower-Seed Oil, l^ve 
all been well tested, and some of them work very well ; yet 
chey are not in much favor. They do not generally dry as 
fast, and are not so white, nor are they much if any cheaper 
than linseed oil. 

Turpentine is the only oil vehicle that admits of the 
white lead retaining its purity of tint ; hence it is adapted 
to painting white, where the work is excluded from the light 
and air. 

Boiled Oil. The best method of boiling oil is to bring 
the oil to the boiling point, and then add from one half to a 
whole pound of litharge, or red lead, or umber, either one 
or all, recollecting that the more of these dryers that are 
ftdded, the darker and more drying the oil will be. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 119 

Where a clear, transparent oil is required, add only sul* 
phate of zinc. The tests for knowing when the oil is suffi- 
ciently boiled are, it will scorch a feather ; it looks brown ; 
it will crackle if a drop of water be thrown in ; but the 
main thing is to cook it till the froth is all burned off. All 
these indications, however, will be seen about the same 
time. 

Oil of Lavender, as it dries very even, is useful where 
a hard, enamelled surface is required. 

Oil of Poppy is very slow to dry, but being colorless, 
is useful in mixing white and delicate tints. Sugar of lead 
or sulphate of zinc will dry it. 

Nut Oil is clearer, but more costly than linseed oil ; yet 
is prepared by artists for picture work. 



Lime Water. This great secret, called also Harry Mi- 
•aculous, has been sold by travelling speculators for five, 
ten, and twenty dollars. Contrary to the humbugs usually 
peddled, this is a very valuable item. 

Equal parts of lime water and linseed oil, which will 
mix if well shaken, when united with any body matter, 
particularly lead, form a solid and almost imperishable 
cement, which, for priming and second coating, or even the 
last coat, is far superior to oil paint ; and the painter who 
supposed he was cheating his employer, was actually bene- 
fiting him. The color, however, works badly, as it is thick, 
light, and creamy, and harder to spread ; and if fifty per 
cent, is saved in the oil, thirty per cent, is lost in time, 
and ten per cent, in the extra quantity used ; so, after all, 
there is not much saved in its use. 

Pdmics Stone, the lava of the Tolcanoes, is found floating 



120 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

apon the surface of the sea. It is a very useful article, which 
should be used much more than it is for rubbing down 
paiuted work. 

Fire-Proof Paint. This paint is coming into use to a 
<^nsiderable extent. It contains several of the alkaline, 
metallic, and combustible salts, and is, of course, to a great 
extent, fire proof, even when mixed with oil. It works 
light, frothy, and soapy, and for this reason many paintera 
do not like it. It is cheap, however, and durable, but only 
fit for dark work. 



Though varnishes are now made at the manufactorie,^ 
cheaper and better than home-made varnishes can be, yet for 
the sake of convenience a few methods will be given. 

Copal Varnish. 

Gum Copal, . . . .8 pounds. 

Linseed Oil, ... 2 gallons. 

Sugar of Lead, . . . j- pound. 

Turpentine, . • . 8^^ gallons. 

. Boil tiU stringy. 

Another : 

Gum Copal, .... 8 pounds. 
Oil, . . . . .2^ gallons. 
Sulphate of Iron, . . . ^ pound. 
Turpentine, . . . 5J gallons. 

TTiis is a good varnish for house and sign painting, ia 
making the above varnishes, the gum should be melted in a 
small quantity of boiling oil, and poured gradually into the 
kettle ^M>ntaining the other oil, while boiling. When it it 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 121 

ail doDe, and cool enough so as not to ignite the turpen- 
tine, the turpentine should be added. 

Black Varnish, quick drying, and cheap for common 
purposes, such as iron fences and other rough work. 

Black Pitch, . . . .28 pounds. 
Asphaltum, from Tar, . 28 pounds. 

Boil eight or ten hours, then add 8 gallons boiled oil, and 
gradually 10 pounds red lead, and 10 pounds litharge. 
Boil for three hours longer, and add, when lukewarm, 
enough turpentine to thin for working freely. 

This varnish will dry in a few minutes. 

Crystal Varnish. One pint Canada Balsam, in a bA 
tie. Set in a warm place till quite thin, leaving it uncorkod 
Take from the fire, and while thin, add the same quamity 
of turpentine. Shake till well mixed. 

For charts, maps, prints, and all paper ornaments. 

Japan Varnish. 

Gum Shellac, .... 2 pounds. 

Oil, ..... 1 gallon. 

Red Lead, .... 1 pound. 

Litharge, ... 1 pound. 

Umber, ..... ^ pound. 

Melt the gum in a small quantity of oil, and then aad ii, 
gradually, to the other oil while it is boiling. Boil th<> 
whole till stringy. 

This is a good, strong dryer, which gives to the paint a 
high gloss. 

Gum Elastic Varnish. 

India Rubber, cut fine, . . ^ pound. 

Linseed Oil, . . . . ^ pound. 

Turpentine, . . • • i pound. 

Add the gum to the oil while boiling. When diMol /ed. 



122 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

add the turpentine. Boil the whole till clear, and strain. 
Dries slow ; if desired to dry quicker, use boiled oil. Thii 
vernish is brilliant, durable, aud makes the cloth pliable. 

Camphor Varnish. 

Gum Copal, .... 4 ounces. 

Oil Lavender, . . . 12 ounces. 

Gum Camphor, . . . ^ ounce. 

Heat the oil and camphor in a pan, stirring ; then add 
the copal in small quantities. When dissolved, stir and 
add turpentine almost in a boiling state. 

This is transparent, pliable, and durable. For varnishing 
wire gauze, muslin, &c. 

Gold Varnish. 

Pulverized Gum Copal, . . 1 ounce. 

Oil Lavender, ... 2 ounces. 

Turpentine, .... 6 ounces. 

Put the oil in a pan on hot sand. When warm, add th« 
turpentine and copal, as in the camphor varnish. 

TuBPENTiNB Varnish. 
Rosin, . . . . .5 pounds. 
Turpentine, .... 1 gallon. 

Boil till the rosin is dissolved. 

Whitb, Hard Varnish. 
Gum Mastic, .... 1 pound. 
Gum Anima, ... 4 ounces. 

Gum Sandarac, ... .5 ounces. 
Alcohol, 95 per cent., . . 2 ounces. 

Add all together, put in a warm place, and shake often 
Wlien the gams are dissolved, strain through a laws 
neve. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 123 

Vabnish fok Glass. Pulverized gum tragacanth, frliiu 
oi egg, equal quantity. Stand till dissolved. Spread on 
the glass carefully with a brush. 

Glaze Vabnish. 

Powdered Sealing Wax, . . ^ onnce. 
Alcohol, 95 per cent., . . 2 ounces. 

Keep in a bottle in a warm place till the wax is dissolved 
This varnish gives a beautiful glazed polish to paper, 
Biraw, leather, and the like. 

Shellac Polish. 

Gum Shellac, ... , ^ poand. 
Alcohol, .... 1 pint. 

Keep in a warm place till the gum is dissolved. 

This makes a splendid polish for any fine article of furni 
sure, guns, &c. It is best rubbed on with a cloth ; moisten 
the cloth with the polish, and rub over the work briskly. 
It dries in a moment, and twenty coats may be put on in as 
many minutes. It is also a good (perhaps the best) thing 
for killing knots, and is altogether a very useful article, 
and no paint-shop should be without it. Rough and weath- 
er-beaten signs, cloth, and such like may be coated with it, 
which will make the work hold up the color better. Dry 
paints may also be ground in it, for painting signs on 
cloth or paper. It holds the colors from flying, and will 
stand the weather. 

Bemarks, — Any colored varnish may be made by adding 
any of the transparent colors. Oil varnishes, when too 
thick, should be thinned with oil ; distemper varnishes 
should be thinned with alcohol. 

Much care should be observed in making these oil var- 
nishes, that they do not take fire. If they should catch fire, 



124 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

have a board that will cover the top of the kettle rt.kdj, and 
place it on immediately. 

Gold Size. Various methods for preparing gold size 
have been adopted. 

Usual Size. Boiled oil, stirred up with a small quantity 
of litharge and red lead. Set it aside and slake often, tiU 
bleached ; then draw off and bottle. Raw oil will do 
where a slow-drying size is wanted. 

Best Size. Raw oil, heated in a pan till it gives out a 
black smoke. Set fire to it, and let it bum a few minutes. 
Extinguish it by covering the pan over. Pour, while warm, 
into a bottle containing pulverized red lead and litharge. 
Keep in a warm place, slaking often, for two weeks, then 
decant and bottle. 

Bronzing Size. Asphaltum, boiled oil, and turpentine, 
mixed in proportions to flow evenly. 

Inside Size. Honey, diluted with water, vinegar, or 
any liquor. Glue size, beer or ale, white of egg, gum 
arable, or any glutinous or albuminous substance may be 
used. 

Remarks. — Oil gold size is thinned with turpentine. 
Lemon chrome yellow should be ground in the oil size. 



Bfj-yiiig Oolors and Usiiifi: tlieiii. 

It is not proposed to go into an elaborate detail and 
minute description of divers ways and preparations of mix- 
ing colors and doing work, for the experience and taste of 
the worker only must be his guide ; but it will be the en- 
deavor to correct errors which have crept into use from 
careless and inexperienced workmen, and sundry " receipt 
books " which have Veen compiled by any but a practical 
painter. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 125 

PRnoNa. Quite too little attention is paid to this de> 
partment. The color is usually mixed up too thin and put 
on too heavy. The reverse is much the best. Let the 
priming be as thick as will spread easily, and then be well 
rubbed out under the brush. Litharge is the only drying 
necessary in priming. All work, inside or out, may be 
primed the same. 

Puttying. After the priming, all work should have the 
nail-heads and cracks puttied up. It should be done with a 
putty-knife ; puttying up with the fingers is a barbarous 
practice, and does not fill the holes well. 

Sand-Papering and dusting should be done before tho 
puttying ; being done afterwards, is apt to dish out the 
puttied places. 

Second Coat — Outside. Mix with raw oil, and use ii 
as thick as it will spread easily. After the work is all cov- 
ered, it should be cross-smoothed till it has an even surface, 
and then finished lengthwise, with long sweeps of the brush, 
pressing lightly. 

Therd Coat. Made a little thinner than for the second 
coat, and rubbed out as much as possible, cross-smoothed, 
and finished with the tip of the brush very lightly, so as not 
to show the brush marks. 

Second Coat — Inside. Mixed as thick as it will 
work, with equal parts of raw oil and turpentine. Partic- 
ular care should be taken to rub this out well, cross-smooth- 
ing and finishing with the tip of the brusb ; else the color 
will lie in ridges, which the next coat will not hide. 

Third Coat. Mixed with three parts turpentine and one 
of raw oil, rubbed out thoroughly and smoothed carefully j 
BO as to show no brush marks. 

Fourth Coat — Flatting. Mixed with all turpentine 
thin enough so that it may be spread before it sets. Spread 
ovM quickly, withoul cross-smoothing ; finish lengthwis« 
3 



126 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

with light sweeps of the tip of the brush ; three or fbui 
strokes will be as much as one can do before it sets. Square 
up and finish each piece of work before beginning another. 

Drawn Flatting. Mix up the ground lead with turpen- 
tiue, nearly as thin as for flatting. Let it stand till the lead 
settles and the oil and turpentine rise to the top. Pour it 
off and mix again, and repeat the operation till that which 
rises to the top is clear turpentine. By this process, the oil 
in which the lead is ground is entirely drawn out, and the lead 
is mixed with turpentine. This color, however, is quite dif- 
ferent from what it would be if the lead had been ground 
in turpentine. It is more tenacious, and flows better. 

Much care must be taken to spread this on thickly and 
evenly. The room must be kept close, and free from any 
draught of air, as the color sets as fast as put on. This is 
used only as a fourth coat. 

Polish White. This chaste and durable finish requires 
the zinc white to do it properly. It is made by mixing the 
zinc white with white varnish. 

Common Method. After priming and second-coating 
m the usual way with lead, finish with the polish white. 

Best Method. Put on two coats, as above, and then 
spread on several coats of yellow ochre, turpentine, and 
japan, with a little litharge. When dr) , rub smooth and level 
»\rith pumice stone. Then put on one coat of inside second 
coating, and flatten as usual ; rub down with pumice stone, 
then a coat of polish white, and finish with a flowiitg coat of 
white varnish, in which is mixed some of the zinc white. 

Remarks, — When work is to be finished with a gloss, 
the previous coat should be a dead surface ; when it is to bfl 
flattened, the previous coat should have a degree of gloss - 

Lead is the white referred to in the above descriptions, yet 
the rules given for mixing may be applied to all other colors, 
txoept that the darker colors are generally finished with a 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 127 

gloss, ioside or out. They require no turpentine only wbeu 
they are to be varnished. 

Oil dries with a glossy, turpentine, with a flat surface. 

It is a wrong idea to put on heavy coats of paint ; the 
more it is rubbed out, the better will the work look and wear. 
Each coat should stand two or three days before receiving 
another coat. 

Color needs more drying in winter than in summer. 
Outside work lasts longer if painted in cold weather, as not 
so much of the liquid is evaporated, and a heavier body ia 
thus dried upon the surface. 

. Litharge or japan is a good dryer for outside work, and 
for priming in the inside, or for dark colors ; but sulphate 
of zinc is only fit for the last coats on the inside, though sugar 
of lead is used. Either of them may be dissolved in water, 
and stirred into the color. 

Transparent colors will work more freely, and spread on 
with an evener flow, by being mixed with raw oil and japan, 
with a little water stirred in. 

In mixing thick colors, the liquid should be added gradu* 
ally, else the lumps will not be thoroughly broken. 



IMCIXIIVO TINTS. 

The first principle in mixing tints is to take the body 
color, or that ingredient which predominates, and add to it, 
gradually, the other colors. The principal ingredient may 
be thick, but the others must invariably be thin, or the 
lumps will spread out under the brush, leaving a streak of 
x)rresponding color. 

In describing the manner of mixing tints, the predomi- 
aant color will be mentioned first, the second next, and so 
9n, as it would be impossible to give the exact proportion 



128 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



of each color used in any given tint. Thus, for instance, 
violet is mostly red, the next in quantity blue, and the leas! 
white, and so on. In this manner the fcilowing table ex- 
hibits almost every tint which the painter will be likely to 
require, leaving to his taste the peculiar tone : — 

Table of Tints, and the Colors necessary to produce them. 



Gray, 

Buff, 

Pearl, 

Orange, 

Violet, 

Purple, 

Gold, 

Olive, 

Chestnut, 

Flesh, 

Limestone, 

Sandstone, 

Freestone, 

Fawn, 

Chocolate, 

Drab, 

Bronze Green, 

Pea Green, 

Rose, 

Copper, 

Lemon, 

Snuff, 

Claret, 

Dove, 

Pink, 



White Lead and Lampblack. 

White and Yellow Ochre ; Bed. 

White, Black, Blue. 

Yellow, Red. 

Red, Blue, White. 

Violet, with the addition of Red and White. 

White Stone Ochre ; Red. 

y'ellow. Blue, Black, White. 

Red, Black, Yellow. 

White, Yellow Ochre, Vermilion. 

White, Yellow Ochre, Black, Red. 

White, yellow Ochre, Black, Red. 

Red, BlacK, Yellow Ochre, White. 

White, Yellow, Red. 

Raw Umber, Red, Black. 

White, Raw, and Burnt Umbers ; or White^ 

Yellow Ochre, Red, Black. 
Chrome Green, Black, Yellow, or Black 

and Yellow, or Black and Green. 
White and Chrome Green. 
White, Madder Lake. 
Red, Yellow, Black, 
White, Yellow. 
Yellow, Vandyke Brown. 
Red, Umber, Black. 
White, Vermilion, Blue, Yellow. 
White, Vermilion, Lake. 



THE HOME Mi]CHANIC. 129 

Cream, White, Yellow. 

Salmon. White, Yellow, Raw Umber, Red. 

Straw, White, Chrome Yellow. 

Peach Blossom, White, Red, Blue, Yellow. 

Lilac, White, with Violet. 

Changeable, Red, Green, lightened with White. 

Remarks. — Any of the positive colors are made to an j 
degree of lightness with white or yellow. 

Colors for tints work best when mixed with raw oil. 

All tints must be graduated by the taste of the artist, 
recollecting that practice and experience are great helps. 

The finer the quality of the colors used, the purer and 
more beautiful will be the tints. 

All colors should be ground before mixing, as the dry 
color does not stir in well. 



As the direct union of any two of the positive or primitive 
colors are harsh and unpleasant, neutralizing colors may 
be used, which, while they do not destroy the contrast, pre- 
serve the harmony. 

One color will generally harmonize with another when 
both contain the same base in different proportions. 

The choice and arrangement of colors in decoration 
should always be left to the artist, who should make these 
principles his study. 

The following table, partly arranged from Alison, will 
give an idea of the principles of contrast and harmony, and 
^'ill be found valuable in regard to the selection of colors 
for decoration : — 



130 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



rhlB Color 


Contrasts with 


Harmonises wttk 


White, 


Black, Brown, 


Any Color. 


YeUow, 


Purple, White, 


Orange and Pale Colors 


Orange, 


Blue, 


Red-Pink. 


Red, 


Green, 


Crimson. 


Green, 


Red, 


Yellow. 


Purple; 


Yellow, White, 


Crimson. 


Black, 


Pale Colors, 


Deep Colors. 


Gold, 


Dark Colors, 


Light Colors. 



There is also an harmonious contrast, which must evei 
be observed in decoration, as it neutralizes the strong con- 
trast of opposing colors. 

Any of the colors of strong contrast may be made to har- 
monize pleasantly, by dividing them ivith a line of white, 
or any neutral tint. Thus, green and red, when placed to- 
gether, may be made to harmonize if the glimmer be relieved 
by white lines which divide them. The width of the line 
should be in proportion to the size of the object, amount of 
surface, or the distance at which the object is to be viewed. 
There is great scope in the combination of colors, and the 
beauty of their arrangement, which practice, and a famil- 
iarity with their principles, will discover. 

Some of these combinations of display may be seen in the 
UiS^exed table. 

White, as a ground color, sets off well with blues, pur- 
ples, violet, reds, greens, browns. 

Black, with drabs, pink, lemon, gold, light blues, greens, 
purple, salmon. 

Blue, with gold, pink, salmon, buff, light blues, yellows, 
and drabs. 

Green, with gold, purple, pink, lemon, dove, flesh, stone, 
pearl, light greens, and yellows. 

Red, with lemon, pearl, gold, pale blues, and greens. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 131 

Memarks, — Light blues with dark greens, aud vice i;er«a, 
if divided with a line of white, pink, or pearl. 

No two colors should be placed side by side, unless lined 
by a relieving color. 

The placing together reds, blues, and greens, when of th« 
same depths of tone, will always glimmer and look dirty ; 
but the harmony is restored by dividing their lines of con- 
nection with neutralizing tints. 

When tints of barely a perceptible difference in shade are 
iaid side by side, beginning with white, for instance, and 
making each stripe darker and darker, there will be no 
dividing line visible, but the whole surface, if a proper dis- 
tance be allowed, will blend together like the tints and 
gradations of a sunset sky ; the tone is much purer and 
clearer when each tint is thus separate, than as though it 
were blended with a brush. Some of the beautiful frescos 
in mouldings, columns, &c., are done in this manner. 



Ther*; are several colors that are natural transparents ; 
others that may be made so by mixture. 

The transparent colors are Terra de Sienna, Asphaltum^ 
Dragon*s Blood, Carmine, Rose Fink, Chemical Brown, aU 
the Lakes, Gamboge, and all the Gums. 

Semi-transparent : Umher, Vandyke Brown, Chrome Red, 
Emerald Green, Brunswick Green, Ultramarine, Indigo^ 
Verdigris. 

Remarks. — These <»lors should be grouijd very fine, and 
spread on evenly. 

K to be shown with a strong light, two coats .may b« 
^iven ; but if a subdued light, cue coat is better. 

Transparent colors are pur'^r if elutriated; that ife« 



132 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ground fine in water ; let it settle ; pour off the top part of 
the settlings ; mix that up with more water ; let it settle, and 
take the top half of that, which will be free from all saud 
and grit. If the pure part of the pigment, however, 
should be the heaviest, discard the top and use the bottom 
of the sediment. Usually, however, the purest coloring 
part settles upon the top. 

Any of these colors will work more evenly, and be more 
transparent, if a small quantity of water be mixed while 
grinding. 

Turpentine makes transparent colors work crumbly. 

Bleached boiled oil, or white varnish, is the best vehicle 
for flowing evenly. Raw oil does very well, only tha^ 
transparent colors are always difficult to dry. 



IMULscellaueous Items and !Riiles. 

Under this head will be given a variety of items which 
will embrace every department of painting, and will be 
found of great use to every painter, — novice, amateur, and 
master, — inasmuch as it is the experience of the best painters 
in America. Many of them will be found to be new, and ail 
of them valuable. In fact, it is intended as a sort of vade~ 
mecum, to which the painter can at any time, when at a 
loss, turn and be almost sure to find just what he wants. 

Killing Knots. Glue size and red lead. Gum shellac 
dissolved in alcohol, and mixed with red lead. Gutta percha 
dissolved in ether. But through all or any of these will the 
pitch of the knot exude if exposed to the sun. Perhaps 
the veiy best method is, to size the knot with oil size, and 
then lay a leaf of gold or silver on it. In a very choice 
piece of work, a hot iron may be held over the knot till a 
g^d portion of the pitch has come out and be in scraped 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



133 



oJS^, when the two coats of the leaf will be sure to keep out 
both the pitch and any discoloration. 

Killing Grease. Old work is always more or less 
greasy and smoky. Wash over the smoky or greasy parts 
with nitre, or with very thin lime whitewash. Soda will do, 
but lime is the best and cheapest. 

Soap-Suds, when used to wash old paint, should be 
well rinsed off, as it prevents the paint from drying, espe- 
cially on greasy work. It will not sufficiently take the 
grease out ; lime-water is best. 

Any work that fails to dry, may be made to do so, by 
rubbing it all over with japan and turpentine — rubbing it 
well in with a brush. 

Plastered Walls. A coat of glue size before painting 
in oil. It is also best upon the white plaster or hard finish 
walls. 

Puttying should be done after priming. Putty for 
stained work or naked wood may be made of glue water 
and whiting. 

Sanding should be done on the fourth or fifth coat, and 
then a coat of paint on the sand. A pair of bellows, with 
the nose of a watering-pot upon the nose of the bellows, is 
the best way to sand cornices and perpendicular work. Tt 
may be blown on in this way without so much loss. 

Canvas and Muslin. Dissolve a little India-rubber in 
boiling oil or turpentine, and add a little of this to thi'a 
paste wliile both are hot. This is the best size for cloth. 

Transparent Cloth. Stretch the cloth tight. 

Pulverized White Rosin, . . 1 pound. 

Bleached Linseed Oil, . . '42 ounces. 

WTiite Beeswax, ... 3 ounces. 

Venice Turpentine, . . 12 ounces 

Heat the first turee articles tiU dissolved, then add tht 



134 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

turpentine while hot. A good varnish for curtains and afi 
similar work. Varnish both sides. 

Water-Proof Cloth. Equal parts cf yellow ochre and 
lampblack ; mix with it an equal quantity, in bulk, strong 
boiling soap-suds. Lay on as thick as the brush will spread. 
Ia three days finish with black paint. 

Rough Work. Any of the ochres or lead, mixed with 
roal tar and thinned with turpentine, make an excellent 
rarnish for rough work, and is also a great preserver of 
wood from damp. Japan will hasten its drying. 

Boiled Paint Skins. This is a very economical way 
of obtaining a cheap and durable color for all outside work. 
All the cleanings and scrapings of the buckets, and 
wipings out of the bruslies, instead of being wasted on the 
wall, may be saved and boiled up in oil. The hardest and 
dryest paint skins, putty, &c., in this way are softened and 
rendered available. 

A Good Cement for gutters and leaky places may be 
made of these boile'd paint skins, if while hot and thick a 
portion of sand and fine lime be stirred in. It must be 
used while hot, and when dry will be as lard as iron, and 
as durable. 

Cleaning Old Smalt. Old smalt on signs, &c., may 
be loosened by spreading on potash dissolved in water, or 
wet wood ashes or sal soda ; or, if not too old, it is best 
scraped off. If the potash or ashes stand on too long, so as 
to soak into the wood, the paint that may afterwards be put 
on will not dry well. 

Tar may be killed, so as not to show through the palat, 
if it be well scraped and washed with a mixture of equal 
parts of turpentine and ammonia, and thep h coat of gutta 
percha dissolved m turpentine. 

Hard Earth Colors, such as umber. Sienna, and the 
Uke, are much easier ground, either in oil or distemper, i/ 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 135 

they are crushed up and allowed to stand in vinegar an 
hour or so. If to be ground in oil, the lumps should drip 
till the water is out. 

Saps will show if a piece of work of a plain surface be 
iaft; half finished for too long a time. Begin no more of any 
plain surface than what can be finished before it sets. 

Flatting must not be touched up after it is once finished. , 
or it will show a gloss. 

Gloss. Color put upon a gloss color will give the surface 
somewhat of a dead or flat appearance ; whereas, also, flatting 
on flatting gives a degree of gloss. It is best, then, previous 
to the flatting finish, to have the ground slightly glossy ; and 
for a gloss finish in paint or varnish, it is quite necessary to 
have the previous coat flat, either in color or in the rubbing 
down, though it must be understood that there must be a 
sufficient body of color underneath to hold up the gloss. 

Wash Brushes in turpentine, and then in warm soap- 
suds. 

Hot, Strong Lye will clean old cans, cups, buckets, 
jugs, &c., from the dried colors. 

Signs, and other small work, in cold weather, may be 
made to dry faster by heating at the fire, so as not to 
blister, and then placed in the cold to dry. 

Turpentine has no specific drying quality. It hastens 
drying only by evaporation ; and if there be no drying qual- 
ity in the color used, it will not dry any better than if 
mixed with raw oil. Lampblack, for instance, would not 
dry at all. 

Gold Changing. This effect in gold leaf that is exposed 
to the air, has been a source of wonder and perplexity. 
Beautiful gold signs have sometimes been spoiled in the 
space of a year, having the appearance as though every 
other leaf was copper. It is probably caused by the copper 
alloy in the leaf, and Ihe smoke leaving a deposit of sul* 



136 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

phur. When the size is too wet, and the leaf is rulbed too 
hard in spots, the oxygen of the atmosphere unites with the 
salts of the tint underneath ; perhaps, also, by some of the 
leaves being hammered thin in the middle. Where it is 
from a deposit of sulphur, it may be washed off with weak 
sulphuric acid, or even with vinegar. 

GuTTA Percha is an excellent article, dissolved in hot 
oil and turpentine, for sizes, giving gloss, durability, and 
flexibility to varnishes. Gutta percha may be made avail- 
able for many uses to the painter if experimented with. 

Pencils. Camel's hair and other pencils and fitches 
work better and last better if, when done using them, they 
are rinsed in turpentine and washed in soap-suds. When 
this is not done, keep them in raw oil. 

Rinsing Cup, made like a quart measure, having a small 
tin cup perforated at the bottom with fine holes, and fitting 
into the top of the large cup, and reaching down one third its 
depth. Fill the large cup with turpentine till it reaches over 
^e perforated bottom of the small cup. Rinse the pencil in 
this, and the color settles to the bottom, leaving the turpen- 
tine always clear. Afterward wash, if desired, in soap- 
suds. 

Penciling Brick. Straight-edged rules should be used 
as a guide to drawing the lines, perpendicular as well as 
horizontal. Drawing these lines by guess, as is the prac- 
tice with some, does not fail to show itself in the want of 
uniformity. The lead for lining works best when mixed 
with turpentine ; used thick so as not to run. 

Burning Lampblack is a great help to its drying. It 
also works better, and has more body. The best way to 
Ourn it is to pour upon it enough alcohol to saturate, 
then set fire to it, and let burn till it goes out itself. By this 
means the grease will be entirely burned out without in- 
juring the black. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 137 

Three Coats are required to bear up and cover. Two 
coats will not bring out an even gloss surface on any new 
wood, even though the wood be sized. 

6iL Floors with boiled oil, in which is ground a little 
litharge. The tone of color, if a color is required, may be 
naade by adding any of the transparent colors. 

Man Helps, made with a strip of plank or a broom- 
handle, with a hole in the end to admit the brush-handle, 
are very convenient to reach high and difficult places. 

Stubby-Brushes should never be used in turpentine 
color, as they spatter badly. They are only fit for painting 
hearths, rough bricks, or weather boarding. 

To Cure Damp Cellar "Walls. Boil two ounces of 
grease with two quarts of tar for nearly twenty minutes in 
an iron vessel, and having ready pounded glass one pound, 
slacked lime two pounds ; well dried in an iron pot, and 
sifted through a flour sieve. Add some of the lime to the 
tar and glass to form a thin paste only sufficient to cover a 
square foot at a time about an eighth of an inch thick. 

To Preserve Wood axd Brick Work from Damp Wea- 
ther. Take three pecks of lime slacked in the air, two 
ditto of wood ashes, and one peck of fine sand. Sift them 
fine, and add linseed oil sufficient to use with a paint brush ; 
tliin the first coat, use it as thick as it will work the second 
coat. Grind it fine or beat it in a trough. 

To Whiten Linseed Oil. Shake up daily two ounces of 
lithrage in a gallon of oil and eight ounces of spirits of tur- 
pentine, for fifteen days ; afterward let it settle three days, 
then pour off the clear part into a shallow vessel and place 
it in the sun three days, to whiten and clear it. 

Clarifying Oil. Various metallic salts are used. Sugai 
of lead, or white vitriol pulverized and well mixed with 



138 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

the oil, the wLole to be set aside for two weeks, shaking 
occasionally at first. When settled and bleached, it may 
be decanted. Oil mixed up with water, then letting the 
water settle and pouring off the oil, is a very good way to re- 
move any impurity in clarifying oil. It should be done in a 
corked bottle, as all clarified oils, when exposed to the air, 
become putty before they are done. 

Shellac for Painting. Alcohol, with gum shellac dis- 
solved in it, is an excellent vehicle to mix colors for paint- 
ing ornaments or letters on cloth or paper. It works very 
free, holds the brilliancy of the color, and will stand the 
weather. 

Painted Clothing. Equal parts of turpentine and spirits 
of ammonia will take out the paint spots from any kind of 
clothing, no matter how old, and dry, and hard, it may be. 
Saturate the spot with the liquid, perhaps two or three 
times, till the paint is soft, and then wash out all with 
soap-suds. 

Remove old, hard Putty. Take a brush or a bit of 
cloth tied to a stick, and spread over the putty with muriatic 
acid. The hardest putty in this way will soon become 
soft, and may be scraped off with the putty-kniffe. The 
Acid should be well rinsed off. 



All work, before being varnished, should be prepared 
with a dead surface, either by mixing with turpentine or by 
nibbing down with pumice stone. In very finely finished 
work, requiring a level surface, rub down with solid pumice 
stone and water ; where only smoothness is necessary, rub 
with pulverized pumice stone with water, using for a rubber 
any woolen cloth, or felt, or buckskin. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 139 

The First Coats should be spread on evenly, and well 
rubbed out. Two, or four, or six coats may be given with- 
out rubbing ; then, previous to the last coat, rub till the 
gloss is destroyed, after which give it a heavy flowing coat. 

The Flowing Coat. Where work is to be finished on 
a cheaper plan, the rubbing need not be done. 3 d this case 
give two or three coats, well rubbed out, and while the last 
coat is quite sticky, so as to make the brush drag through a 
little toughly, put en a heavy flowing coat of thick varnish 
— put on so heavily that it will flow evenly of itself. This, 
after thoroughly dry, may be polished. 

Polishing. Rub down with finely pulverized pumice 
stone till smooth and even ; wash off. Then rub with 
rotten stone and sweet oil. Clean off the oil, and polish with 
chamois leather. Some use only the hand to finish with, 
which is quite as good after being rubbed with rotten stone 
and sweet oil. If the under coats of paint are not thor- 
oughly dry, the varnish will be apt to crack. 



GtLAZinVG. 

Sashes are primed before glazing. 

Glass laid in with the crown or convex side out. 

The tins driven in with a chisel or glazing hammer ; 
fbnr tins to each glass on the two long sides, about one 
fourth of the distance from the corners. If tins are put 
in the center, they are apt to break the glass, especially ia 
cold weather. 

Back Puttying. In good work and medium-sized glass, 
after the glazing is done and the putty well set, fill the 
spaces on the inside. Use the putty soft, or it will press 
the glass out. 

Bedding, for superior work and large glass, is the b6S(. 



140 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Glaze the rabbet with soft putty, and press the glass down 
fato it as close as it will lay, pressing on the edges and not 
the middle of the glass, then glaze as usual. 

Where the moulding of the sash is to go outside, tii« 
crown side of the glass should be out also. 

Cleaning after the glazing is done, with water and a 
brush, or with whiting and a dry brush. The line of the 
putty should come just even with the line of the moulding 
on the other side of the glass. 

Re-glazing. A sharp, square-pointed chisel is the best to 
take off the old putty. Potash is sometimes used to soften 
the putty when it is very hard. 

The best diamonds are the cheapest. 5 Hose cuts which 
make the least noise are always deepest. 



If one has no taste for this branch of the art, it will be a 
difficult matter to teach him, by rules, to make a graceful 
letter or ornament ; but, presuming that every one who 
engages in the business has a taste, a few rules will be laid 
down which will not fail to convey the right principle. 

The following principles of lines from Hogarth are truly 
valuable : — 

Heavy Lines, when perpendicular, express strength 
When angular or horizontal, harshness. 

Fine Lines express smoothness and delicacy. 

Angular Lines are harsh and unpleasant. Therefore, 
the least beautiful lines are heavy and angular ; the mos* 
beautiful, fine and waving. 

All objects are more or less beautiful, as they contain 
this waving line, which is the line of grace and beauty. 

According to this principle, the curved letters, such aa 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 141 

B, R, S, auJ 0, are the most graceful, and the aiigulai 
letters, A, V, aad W, most harsh. 

The most graceful form of letters is the Roman, or Ro 
man fancy, while the most solid and substantial are th« 
square block letters. 

Though all the varieties of letters contain all these princi- 
ples, yet the taste of the artist will lead him to make such 
ODrabinations as will best please the eye, recollecting that alJ 
combinations, to be beautiful, should be uniform, not having 
strong, angular lines united to fine, waving ones. This 
applies also to all ornament. 



UlVIFOItMilTY. 

In addition to these rules, uniformity must also be re. 
garded, for uniformity not only applies to single lines, but 
to successions of lines, for irregular lines that are not in 
keeping are very unpleasant and unattractive to the eye ; 
and though the beauty of scrolling, or other ornament, is 
sometimes heightened by irregularity, yet the same rules of 
uniformity, grace, and keeping must be preserved, or I'm 
work will not make a graceful display. 

From these principles we may deduce the following rules, 
as they apply to letters and ornament : — 

Perpendicular and horizontal lines, with their angles., 
must be parallel. 

Curves must hold the same proportional relation to each 
other. 

Spaces between lines must be uniform, and in proportion 
to the size and length of the lines. 

Perpendicular lines should be heavier than horizontals, 
aad angles lighter than either. 
4 



142 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

The heaviest part of curves should be a little heavier in 
the center of the swell than perpendiculars, as a Roman 
at the swell of the sides is heavier than the body of an I. 
They should also extend a little below, and very slightly 
above the line. 

A true and well-proportioned Roman letter should have 
the main body four times as wide as the stems, or project- 
ing points, and the length four times as long as the body is 
wide. 

Block letters should have the horizontal and angulaf 
blocks a little narrower than the perpendicular ones. 

The Egyptian or Gothic blocks are governed by the same 
rules as the square blocks, except that they are made with- 
out any projecting stems. 

Fancy letters must be governed by the prmciples of the 
standard letters after which they are modeled ; and the 
most perfect way to make a fancy letter, for the begin- 
ner, is to first make the standard letter, Roman, Block, 
T Gothic, and then rub out and add, still preserving the 
general outline or character, and thus alter to any orna- 
mental shape that may please the eye. 



In adopting a series of rules for lettering, it must be recol- 
lected that the eye, after all, is the most reliable guide ; for, 
unless one has a tolerably true eye, it will be almost in vain 
to attempt to make a series of graceful characters. Two 
qualifications are positively requisite. He must have some 
artistic taste ; he must have some mechanical skill. A 
knowledge of architectural drawing would be a benefit to 
the painter, yet it does not furnish the desired rules, and 
v>ne may study geometry and mensuration for half a liid' 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



143 



time without being able to succeed in graceful lettering and 
Bcrolling. 

The rules that can be given are but few and disjointed ; 
no continuity of rules can be given that is not interfered 
with ; for a rule, in its full application, that applies to one 
letter, will not to another ; hence the eye must be the guide 
in the detail, as the rules apply only to the general charactei 
and outline ; yet, irregular as these rules may be, if well 
studied, the learner will obtain principles which will not 
tail to aid him in this interesting pursuit. 

The following diagram will give a very correct idea of 
Jhe proportions of letters. Draw six perpendicular linea 
parallel to each other, and at equal distances. Then cut 
these lines with horizontal ones at right angles, making the 
spaces a little narrower. Then draw a letter upon the 
squares, by taking one row of squares for the stem, one for 
the body, two for the space, and so on, till the letter is 
finished, the dotted lines forming the letter, thus : — 



: i 


— 


J 










— . 


: 


"""v 


: ^ — 
• i 

1 ^-• 

i s 








\ 


\ 


\ 






;;--- 


\ 


V J 








! V 


\ 




..., 


h- 




Block 








G 


oth] 


c. 






Kom 


an. 



This rule is best adapted to the Block and Gothic, to 
which it applies almost without an exception ; yet it serves as 
a sort of general guide to the Roman. But it will be per- 
ceived that all letters do not require the same number of lines 
and spaces laterally. A block I, for instance, requires only 
three squares in width, while » i M requires seven. Some 
again require half squares to give them their proper proper* 
tion. 



144 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

The diagram on the preceding page serves to show th« 
first principles of standard letters, but among the exoep* 
tions may be enumerated the following : — 

The horizontal cross bars of A and G must occupy the 
distance from the center of the middle space to the center 
af the space below it. 

The upper arm of the E extends downward a space and 
three fourths or a half, while the lower arm reaches upward 
two spaces, and outward, laterally, about one eighth of a 
space further than the upper arm. This is necessary, in 
order that the letter may be balanced, and not look top- 
heavy. 

The oblique bodies of the M come to a point, or nearly 
so, at the bottom ; it makes the letter more compact, and 
gives more room for the stems on the inside. 

The lower upright stem of the S reaches up two squares 
the upper one reaches down a square and three fourths or a 
half. The lower space, also, is a little the largest. The 
body of the S runs a little obliquely, being even with the 
lower stem in the left, and projecting a little beyond the 
upper stem at the right. The same rule applies to the Z. 

The inside stems of the H, R, M, W, X, and Y are a 
little the shortest, otherwise the letters would be too much 
spread. 

These rules and diagrams apply to all the standard letters ; 
that is, Roman, Block, and Grotliic. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 1^ 



FAIVOY LETTER.® 

Are of every style, shape, and variety that the ingetaitjf 
of the artist may invent, yet to be graceful and beautiful 
they must be governed by the rules laid down for letters 
Mid scrolling. 

It would be impossible to present a specimen of the nu- 
merous fancy letters that may be made from the standard 
letters. The taste of the artist will guide him in the curves, 
turns, and points necessary to form the standard letter into 
a fancy one. He will also find that one form will suggest 
another ; and it is quite astonishing how many changes may 
be made by the combination of two simple characters, the 
curved and the straight line, — for all forms and shapes in 
art or nature are produced by these two lines alone in com- 
bination. 

Measuring and Ruling. Unless the eye be true and 
the hand steady, and both well practiced, measuring with 
the dividers, or other instrument, from point to point, the 
width of the bodies, spaces, &c., is actually necessary in 
order to preserve the uniformity of the whole work when 
finished. But the artist should not allow himself to rule his 
letters or ornaments, for it gives such a stiff and rigid ap- 
pearance as* will not fail to discover the unpracticed hand ; 
in fact, no practice is sufficient to overcome or disguise the 
stiff and cramped look that characterizes a figure wht^se 
lines are drawn by rule and compass. 

The letter, scroll, or ornament, when any degree of per- 
fection is required, may first be outlined with chalk, and 
then corrected with the lead pencil or crayon ; otherwise a 
rough outline, or a few dots, to serve as landmarks, will be 
sufficient : and the beginner should bear in mind that the 
less marking used in outlining, and the more careless and 



14(J THE HOME MECHANIC. 

off-hand the letter or omameTit is made, the more easy and 
graceful it will be. 

The relative position of the letters on the board should 
be such that there is about the same amount of space be- 
tween each two letters ; thus, an A coming after an L, the 
two should be closer together at the nearest point than an 1 
and an H. 

The spaces above and below the letters occupy about one 
eighth of the width of the board, and the space between any 
two lines of letters may be a little narrower. 

Punctuation should be observed. It is quite as neces- 
sary to punctuate the reading upon a sign as in a book. 
There seems to be little regard paid to this at present, and 
the consequence is, that havoc is made of the " king's " 
English sometimes. 

Creeping of the color may be prevented by any means 
that will partially destroy the gloss of the ground-work, 
such as rubbing with the hand, breathing on it, rubbing it 
with a sponge or cloth with warm water, or weak soap- 
suds or turpentine, or, which is best of all, alcohol. Colors 
mixed with varnishes or boiled oil are most apt to creep 
when laid on a glass ground-work. 

The ground-work of a sign should be, to use an old 
painter's expression, " put on thick and rubbed out thin." 
It is the correct principle in all ground-painting. 

Signs, as all other painting, should be flatted for inside, 
And glossed for outside ; though a little turpentine may bt§ 
put in the last coat, for outside, in cold weather. 

A go« d sign should receive four coats of ground-color. 

The rest stink, or " mahl stick," in drawing Hlcs ; or the 
right hand may rest on the thumb of the left, while the little 
finger of the left hand touches its tip upon the board, and 
thus in turning, as on a pivot, the pencil has considerabla 
•cope. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 147 

VresB the pencil down closely, and make clean STveeps at 
ioarly as possible to the desired line, so that every stroke 
shall count. 

00]L.I> LETTEIftS. 

Care should be first taken to have a smooth ground to 
oize on. Three or four coats will be sufficient ; less will 
not do. The size should be limpid, and thin enough to flow 
freely and evenly, and well rubbed out, which it will bear 
if the ground-work be well filled. 

Pouncing, to prevent the gold from sticking to the 
ground, may be done with whiting, starch, or rose-pink in 
a fiannel cloth ; or the surface may be rubbed with a slice 
of potato, or with the white of egg and water, or anything 
containing starch, glue, or albumen in a small degree. 
However, whiting, rose-pink, or charcoal are the most con- 
venient, and the most certain also. The pouncing should 
be very lightly dusted off after pouncing, and before sizing, 
with a blender, or other light, soft brush, or the size will 
spread. 

Smalted Ground. Cut in around the letters with a 
color similar to the color of the smalt to be used. The 
color should be mixed with flowing boiled oil. The smalt 
should be sprinkled on freely, and if not very fine, like 
blue zaffer or the like, it may lie on for an hour or two, in 
order to give it a chance to absorb the oil. By this means 
the sign gets more of a body and depth of color. A very 
small quantity of white glass frosting, crushed fine, and 
thoroughly mixed with the smalt, gives it a beautiful spar- 
kling appearance. 

Flock is used the same as the smalt, except that it must 
be sifited on, and the flock must be well dried. 

Shading, for the blocks or edges of the letter, may be 



148 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

done with colors on the board before the smalting, but the 
most beautiful effect for the shadows and high light is pro- 
duced by putting the color, made thin, on the smalt after it 
is dry. A fitch is the best for this purpose. 

Ornamenting on the gold may be done with terra de 
sienna, umber, asphaltum, or any transparent color. 

Where the letters come over any puttied spot, the putty- 
ing must have two coats, or the size will not stand out. 

Embossing on the surface of the gold with sienna, um- 
ber, &c., for the darks, and white, light yellows, greens, 
blues, gamboge, &c., for the lights. 

Enameling, or gilding on glass. Outline on the glass 
with black or asphaltum, or other dark color, a fine line to 
enclose the gold ; when dry, the glass where the gold is to be 
laid, wetted with water, with or without a very little white 
of egg^ gum arabic, or alcohol, or whiskey ; this last is prob- 
ably the best, as there is sufficient albumen in it to hold the 
gold. The breath, however, is one of the best things where 
the gold is fine, and where two coats are laid on, for the 
first coat. In a few moments it will be dry ; rub off, toler- 
ably hard, with a piece of cotton or silk ; wet again with a 
fuU pencil, drawing but once in a place, over all spots that 
are not well covered, then another layer of leaf ; when dry, 
rub off with cotton. Fill the back of the letter with asphal- 
tum, dissolved in turpentine. Two or three coats are neces- 
sary. When dry, rub off the surplus gold with a slightly 
dampened sponge or cloth ; or breathe upon it, and rub off 
with cotton or the finger. After it is all clean, the shade 
or ornament, in color, may be put on. 

When the ornament is to be done on the surface of the 
gold, do it on the glass before the gold is laid on. 

Another Method is to lay the gold first, where the let- 
ters are to go, then frame through a pattern or theorem the 
letters with charcoal, finely pulverized. Trace with thret 
coats of asphaltum, and rub off the surplus gold 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 149 

Another Method. Make a pattern of the letters of 

pasteboard or thin copper ; lay this on several thicknesses 
of tin foil, and cut through the whole, making several dupli- 
cates ; then coat these tin foil letters with a solution of gum 
arabic, and lay them on the glass. When dry, paint out 
the whole, glass and letters, with any color. Then wet 
and take off the letters of foil, and gild the places. A 
very pretty ornamental finish for these letters is, to put the 
ornament on the glass, w^here the foil letter has been taken 
off, with oil size, and then gild, when dry, with the enamel. 

Painting with colors on glass requires two coats to make 
the surface even. 

Imitation op Stained Glass. Paint the ornament 
with transparent colors. When dry, wash over the whole 
surface with sugar of lead ground in oil and turpentine, and 
while wet dab it all over with the end of a brush, very 
lightly ; or lay a piece of muslin, wrung out in the solution, 
on the glass, and press it down closely ; then taking one cor- 
ner, lift it off. White lead may be used, mixed thin with 
boiled oil. Put on as little as possible, and pounce it all over 
with the end of a brush till it has an even ground sur 
face. 

Ornaments, cut of thin paper or tin foil, pasted on the 
glass, and the rest of the glass whitened, afterward taking 
off the paper or foil, makes a pretty effect. 

It will be seen that letters must be done backward on 
the glass. 

The white glass frosting, sprinkled over the ground-work 
)f the glass while wet, gives a sparkling effect. It must be 
finely powdered. 

Transparent Signs. Prepare the cloth with the cam- 
phor varnish (page 30) ; or, if large, like transparent cloth 
(page 41). Stretch tight, and prepare. Then key up th« 
frame till the cloth is tight again. Cut the letters or orna- 



150 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ment of waxed cloth, stick them on the cloth. Then with 
stiff, transparent color, mixed with boiled oil or varnish, 
dab over the ground-work with the end of a brush. It maj^ 
be shaded with any dark color. 

After the canvas is prepared transparent, any colored 
letter may be put on. 

Tbansition Signs. Cut into the band around the board 
grooves the width of a hand-saw, one inch apart, then insert 
strips of tin one inch wide, and long enough to reach across 
the board, thus covering the face of the board. When 
fitted, take them all out, laying them down flatwise, and 
with the edges close together, and paint any word. When 
dry, turn them all over, still keeping them in their same place, 
turning them over from right to left. Paint the surface of 
the board with any letters, pictures, or other figures. When 
dry, slide the strips, in the manner in which they lay, into the 
^ooves on the sign. This sign has a very magical effect, 
ijhanging from one sign to another as the beholder passes by. 

Reflecting Signs. Paint the letters on the naked 
glass backward, in gold. Then, when dry, paint on the 
back side of these letters any color. Then make a frame or 
box, the part of which will receive this glass plate. Then 
bed in the box two strips of looking-glass, the edges meet- 
ing at the center and up at the back of the box, the other 
edges curving up to the edges of the glass in the front of the 
glass, forming an angle of ten or twenty degrees, to the 
plane of the frame in front. Lay the lettered glass in front, 
when you may graduate the angle of the reflectors. It will 
show three signs at once. 

Japanned Tin. Rub over the tin with cotton and alco 
hoi. This will take off grease or other matter that may 
make the gold stick. Then sketch the design with white 
ci'ayon ; or, sketch the design on paper, and rub over the 
back of the paper with whiting — rub it over with a cloth ,* 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



151 



lay the paper on the tin, and trace the design over •ei.h a 
pointed stick. Size and gild, and rub off the surplus gold 
with cotton. 

Shades and Shadows. Shading is understood, amcLg 
the craft, as representing two sides or edges of the letters, 
supposing them to be cut of wood or other material. It is 
done with two or more colors, showing the light and dark 
side of the object. The lines are all parallel witii each 
other, except when shaded in perspective, when the lines of 
shade all run to a vanishing point. Place the pencil at aU 
the comers of the letter, on the bottom and riglit hand side 
of the letter, and draw downward at an angle of forty-five 
degrees. This will give the outline of the shade. The per- 
pendicular and horizontal lines of the shade are parallel to 
the lines of the letter. Make the shade as wide as is de- 
sired. All these oblique lines must make a corner with the 
aorizontal and perpendicular lines of the letter. The high 
iights are put on the side, and dark on the bottom. These 
rules apply to shading. 

Shadowing, is representing shadow cast by the painted 
©bject, and is always of one color, and dark, and should be a 
mere glazing of the surface. Black, umber, vandyke brown, 
and asphaltum are good colors to represent shadows. The 
shadow will be on the opposite side of the shading. The 
different appearance of the tones of the shadows depend 
upon the color of the ground upon which they fall, for the 
shadow should be transparent. 

Take a letter cut out of a block of wood, and paint >!, any 
color. Set it up in the window, and there will be readily 
seen the form, color, and outline of the shade, as also of the 
shadows. By this means the beginner may obtain more 
real knowledge in regard to the position and manner of 
shading than could be told him in a volume. By pamting 
and gilding the letter in various ways, turning the lettef 



152 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

edgewise, laying it down, tipping the top toward you or from 
you, will all give a correct idea of the form of letters, and 
the colors of their shades. 

A trusty and judicious management of shading is neces- 
sary, lest some of the letters be thrown out of shape. S, 
B, K, and G, when they occur in a line of letters, will not 
Admit of a heavy shade, else the whole inside spaces of the 
tetters are filled with color. The shading should be modified 
to suit the letters in the line, so that each letter shall look 
free and easy. 

BemarJcs. — Pouncing. A piece of flannel, or other 
loose cloth, filled with whiting, rose-pink, or charcoal. 

Marking on Glass. Wash the glass clean with alcohol 
and rotten stone, then give a coat of water and whiting ; 
trace on this with a pointed stick, from left to right ; turn 
the glass round, and paint backwards. 

Perspective Letters may be foreshadowed to suit the 
fancy, making a point of distance for each letter. The 
edge of a letter may thus be turned almost in front, showing 
the edge, top, and face side of the letter. 

Shape of Pencil for drawing long lines or striping 
should be long and slim, and when used the pencil lays 
nearly its full length upon the board. For cutting scrolls 
and other ornament, the pencil is shorter, fuller, and when 
wet, has a sharp point swelling back to the center. For 
lettering, the same kind, with the point cut off square, but 
not too blunt. For filling up, short and thick. Camel's 
hair pencils are used mostly, though some prefer sable. 
They cost more, yet for heavy color are much the best, as 
they are stiffer, and hold the color without bending. 

Odd Fellows' and Masons' Aprons, Banners, or ant 
Silk and Satin. Go over the whole surface to be painted 
with varnish, or egg and water. This will prevent the size 
or color from spreading. When dry, the figures may b« 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 153 

painted or sized in oil, and gilded. Where the work is not 
exposed to the weather, or is required to be done quickly, 
take white of egg with twice its quantity of water, or a solu- 
tion of gum arabic ; size with this, and lay the leaf while 
wet. Where color is to go on, let the size dry. Colors 
ground and mixed with varnish are not so apt to spread on 
silk and satin. 

Sizing should be tacky enough to hold the leaf, and dry 
enough, when gilded, to rub down with cotton. 

The following metal leafs are in general use : gold leaf, 
silver leaf, French leaf, Dutch metal, and zinc foil. These 
last two are of little utility to the sign painter. French 
leaf, however, which is made of pinchbeck, when the work 
is inside and at a distance from the eye, or where one lea^ 
will cover one letter, shows very well for a time ; but tl e 
laps of the edges, where two leaves join, soon begin to 
show. It costs about one twentieth as much as gold. 

Silver Leaf is alloyed more or less with some baser 
metal, and consequently will not stand the weather, as the 
oxygen of the atmosphere soon oxydizes the inferior metal, 
and even the pure silver will soon tarnish when exposed to 
the weather. It is about one half the cost of gold leaf 
These inferior leaves require the size to be more tacky than 
for gold. ^ 

A very small amount of tallow touched to the cloth with 
which the leaf is rubbed will take out the wrinkles, yet it 
somewhat kills the gloss. 

To CLEAN OLD PAINTINGS. A very excellent method of 
cleaning and restoring old oil paintings, is to cover them 
with wet cloths for three days, changing twice" a day, and 
washing them off at each change. When clean and dry, 
rub them over with nut oil. 

Tinseled Letters, or Chinese Painting on Glass, ii 
done by painting the ^ound-work with any color, leaving 



154 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

the letter or figure naked. When dry, place over the letter* 
on the back of the glass tin foil, or the various colored coppei 
foils, after crumpling them in the hand, and then partially 
straightening them out. 

Oriental Painting is done in this manner. Various 
ornaments, birds, flowers, &c., are done very beautifully by 
using the colored foils. The copper foil can be had in the 
paint and drug stores all ready colored ; but any color may 
be made with the tin foil (which is cheaper), by painting the 
tin foil with transparent colors, ground in gum water, or the 
picture may be produced by painting the figure on the 
glass with transparent colors, then placing the plain tin foil 
behind it. The background must be painted before putting 
on the foil, and then the foil may be put on in large enougli 
pieces to cover the figure. 

Grecian Oil Painting. Take any lithograph or other 
print, rub it well over with balsam of copaiva, thinned with 
turpentine till it is perfectly transparent ; press it between 
folds of paper to get out the surplus balsam. Lay the face 
to a sheet of glass and set before a window, and paint with 
any transparent colors ground in oil, as near the natural 
color as possible. When dry, back up the print with white 
paper. The colors may be put on in careless patches, and 
when viewed from the front side has a very pretty effect, 
A few trials will be sufficient to show one how to manage 
the colors. 

This branch of decoration, like lettering, requires an 
artistic taste ; nature, the eye, and practice being the best 
instructors. 

In order to obtain any degree of perfection in the iraita- 
dons of woods and marbles, it is necessary to procure 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 15 ~ 

panels or bits of veneer, and copy the color aad form o\' 
the grains as near as possible. 

Graining in Oil. Mix the grain color in boiled oil *nd 
turpentine, and add a little soap, or whiting, or even both ; 
It makes it flow better. Clean the sponge, &c., in oil or 
Mirpentine. 

For Distemper, the grain color is ground in ale, beer, 
vinegar, or whiskey ; the object being to bind the color so 
that it will not rub off. As a general thing, stale ale oi 
beer is the best. Whiskey, however, in cold weatner, 
might be preferred, because it does not creep like otiier 
fluids ; but if the ground-work is rubbed over with whiskey 
it will be sufficient. 

Graining should be done with a free and careless motion 
df the hand, yet having an eye to the character of the 
»vood. 

The descriptions of the manipulation will be as brief and 
distinct as possible, so as not to confuse the learner, and 
clog up his way with words. 

Distemper Graining requires the ground-work to be 
dampened by rubbing all over with a sponge wrung out of 
the ale, previous to putting on the grain color. 

The ground-work : as in other mixtures, take the N)dy 
color first, and add the positive colors by degrees, lill the 
required tint is produced. 

The work may be primed, as for other work, with any 
light color. The second coat must approach to the ground* 
rolor, and the third coat must be the tint to grain upon, and 
is best mixed with a gloss, either for inside or out. ^esa 
than three coats of ground color will not make a good job. 

In particularizing the specific quantities of proportion of 
ingredients, we are governed only by general princinles. 
The artist must regulate the tint according to taste. 

The brush, cloth, or sponge, or whatever toob may b« 



156 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ased, must be frequently washed out in water while doin^ 
a job. 

Glazing colors are transparent, and are mixed very thin 
whether the vehicle is oil or water. 

Blending must be done by brushing the tit of the blende? 
back and forth lightly over the work while it is wet. 

Blazing is done by sliding the blaze stick up, and bear 
ing round to the right or left. The same motion is required 
in pecking in the fine check grain with the side of the 
blender ; striking with the flat side of the blender, pushing 
the hand upward. 

It is exceedingly difficult to describe the entire manipula- 
tion in graining. We therefore give a synopsis of the plauj 
and if the learner apply himself studiously, referring to this 
volume as a Hand-Booh^ he cannot fail to succeed, because 
the rules herein laid down he will find to be correct. 

In copying the natural wood, it is the character of the 
wood, and not the particular individual lines and spots, thai 
you wish to obtain. 



Tools. A sponge, or cloth, or a piece of buckskin for 
wiping out the lights. 

A common paint brush, to put on the color. 

A blaze stick, to make the bright blazes in the center of 
the branch. It is made of a piece of wood shaved down 
thin, or a paper card, three inches long and one inch wide, 
and very thin. 

A bltjnder, to soften the work. 

A top grain^r, to put in the dark grain. 

Ground. \^urome yellow and orange red lead. About 
one third lead, but sufficient to tint to a bright orange. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 157 

Gbain Color. Burnt terra de sienna. 

Dampen the work with the fluid you grain with. 

Spread on the grain color with a brush ; blend crosswise^ 

Wipe out, with a sponge or cloth, the light parts. 

Blend again till soft. 

Put in the blazes up through the center with the blaz« 
itick. 

Blend down the crude roughness of this lengthwise. 

When dry, rub off with the hand or a soft cloth, the 
rough particles. 

Give a coat of thin varnish. 

For Glazing. Add a small quantity of asphaltum to the 
grain color, so that it is a shade darker than before, and 
add ale till it is quite thin. 

Rub it well out over the whole surface. 

Blend it crosswise. 

Peck it all over with the side of the blender, pushing the 
nand upward to produce the fine check grain. 

When dry, put on the dark top grain. 

Another method is, instead of making the check grain, to 
wipe the blender through the glazing, making the top grain 
in that way. 

Dark or light mahogany is made by using corresponding 
colors in the ground, grain, and glazing. 

When the graining does not tint, it may all be rubbed off 
with the wet sponge, and grained over again. 

Tools. Brush, to put on color. 
Buckskin, to wipe out lights. 
Blender and top grainer. 

Ground. Cream color, made with white lead and jtH 
low ochre. 

6 



158 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Grain Color. Raw sienna and raw umber, equal parts 
in all. Coat the work. Fold the buckskin, and with the 
edge wipe out the lights which make the curl. Blend 
lengthwise of the curl. Yarnisli with thin varnish, and 
when dry, glaze over the whole with the grain color made 
very thin, and to which is added a very little asphaltum. 

Wipe out, with the sponge, large patches of lights, and 
blend crossings. When dry, top grain with the glaze color. 

Bird's-eye is managed the same way, except that, after 
the gram color is laid on, patches of light are wiped out 
with a w^et sponge. Blend, and then dot over the whole, 
m patches, by sticking the ends of the fingers over it. 
Then blend very lightly. 

Tools. Same as for mahogany. 

Ground. Drab, made of lead, yellow cchre, Venetian 
red, and black . 

Grain Color. Burnt umber. 

The grain is made almost the same as for mahogany, 
only that the blaze stick is used more freely; and by speci- 
mens of the real wood, it will be seen that the blazes run 
nearly the whole length of the branch, and more regular 
than mahogany, running gradually from bottom to top. 

Tools. A flat brush, sponge, blender, camel's hair 
pencil, and fitches. Ground. Drop black. 

Spread on the color, and wipe out with the sponge or 
flat brush. The grains are put in with the top grainer and 
pencils. Glaze with rose pink and asphaltum mixed, and 
wipe out any knots or shadows to suit the fancy. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 159 

oak:. 

Tools. Brushes, cloth, and coarse and fine combs, mad© 

of steel or leather. 

Ground. Buff, made with white, chrome yellow, and 
Venetian red. 

Grain Color. Raw umber and raw sienna, lightened 
up with whiting mixed with boiled oil. There should be 
whiting enough to prevent the color from running together 
when combed. Another method is, raw umber and sienna, 
with boiled oil, in which is melted a little beeswax or soap 

Paint over the work, comb with the coarse comb first, 
lengthwise, then with the fire Qomb, with a waving motion. 

Wipe out the grains, lights, &c., with a muslin cloth, 
holding it over the thumb nail, taking a clean spot of cloth 
for nearly every wipe. 

Glaze with asphaltum, and wipe out large blazes of 
lights and put in dark spots with a sash tool. Asphaltum 
for glazing should be dissolved in turpentine, and then a 
little boiled oil added, to prevent its drying too quickly. 

Paint the ground-work, and when dry and rubbed down, 
dampen the whole surface with boiled oil, rubbed on with 
a cloth. For the light marbles, however, some prefer to 
work the grain in the ground color while wet. 

Ita^lian M!airl>le. 

Tools. Camel's hair pencils, blender, and sponge. 
Ground. Black. 

Grain Color, Gold tint, for bright veins. Burnt 
sienna, white and yellow ochre, fluid, oil, and tui*pentme. 



160 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Scramble out, in patches, with thin ^vhite lead, with « 
sponge ; blend ; then, with the hair pencil, trace in the 
larger dark veins with burnt sienna, then with yellow ochre, 
and lastly with the gold tint, running the lines over each 
other, yet all having the same general direction. It will be 
seen, from the specimens, that these veins are series of irreg- 
ular loopholes and patches of light, crossed and connected 
by sharp, crinkled, and angular lines, the whiter lines being 
the sharpest. 

When veined and dry, glaze with very thin asphaltum, in 
patches, to give it depth. Then varnish, and, if desired, 
polish. 

Ver d- Antiqixe . 

Tools. Same as for Italian, only fitches are used in- 
stead of pencils. 

Ground. Black. 

Grain Color. White, yellow ochre, and green. 

Scramble in large flakes of white with the sponge, and 
blend. 

Trace in the other tints in veins, something similar to 
Italian, only less veins, and more heavy, being done in 
large, irregular circles. Blend softly. 

Sienna,. 

Tools. Same as above. ! 

Ground. White and raw sienna. 

Grain Color. Raw umber, raw sienna, white and 
black. 

Cloud it over with a thin buff tint, in patches, using a 
siponge. 

Vein with raw umber for dark, and raw sienna and 
black, mixed to a green tint, for the lights. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 161. 

The form and character of thisi is similar to rerd-antiqna, 
only the rings are more regularly round. 
Blend lightly, and varnish when dry. 

Grray and WTiite ]M[ax*1>les. 

Tliis is very simple, though it requires some skill to do it 
nicely. Paint with white or lead color, and vein and mottle 
with black and slate color, in the wet pai:?t, and blend it all 
down softly with a paint brush. 



Shell Work. Ground with bright yellow or orange. 
Coat over with asphaltum, or any of the brown, transparent 
colors, though burnt umber is the most perfect for tortoise- 
shell. Wipe out lights with sponge or buckskin, or a roll 
of putty. Glaze with rose-pink or madder lake. 

Glass, grained in this manner, is very beautiful. Grain 
first on the glass ; when dry, coat with the yellow ; or, 
grain with gamboge and chrome yellow, mixed, and coat 
over with asphaltum or umber. Use the colors in oil. 

Ornamenting Paper is very prettily done by dropping 
some thin oil colors in water, a drop at a time. It floats 
and spreads upon the top in beautiful rings, and stands. Lay 
the paper carefully down on the floating paint, and it will 
receive the impression. 

Granite. Ground with lead color, and spatter, first 
black and then white, over the work, by striking against a 
heavy stick which is held up close to the work. Use a 
stubby brush. The cclors are mixed in turpentine. 



162 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Putty for Repairing Broken Walls. The best putty 
for walls is composed of equal parts of whiting and plaster^ 
of-paris, as it quicklj hardens. The walls may be imme- 
diately colored upon it. Some painters use whiting mixed 
with size ; but this is not good, as it rises above the sur- 
face of the walls, and shows in patches when the work is 
finished. Lime must not be used as a putty to repaii 
walls, as it will destroy almost every color it comes in con- 
tact with. 

Another. Use plaster-of-paris and white sand in nearly 
equal quantities, mixed with water. 

Ordinary JBJLalsomiiiiii^. 

Buy the best bleached glue if the walls are to be white 
or some light tint (if dark, it is immaterial so the glue be 
clean), and use it in the proportion of a quarter of a pound 
to eight pounds of whiting. Soak the glue over night; in 
the morning pour off the water, as it simply swells while 
soaking. Add fresh water, put it in a pail, and set that in 
a kettle of boiling water. When dissolved, stir it into the 
whiting, adding enough water to make it, after mixing, of 
the same consistency as common whitewash. It may be 
tinted any color, and is applied with a whitewash brush. 
If the color is rubbed smooth in a little water and then 
mixed with the wash it will be more even. If the walls 
have been previously whitewashed scrape away all that 
will come off, and wash with a solution of white vitriol — 
two ounces in a pail of water. The vitriol will be decom- 
posed, forming zinc white, and plaster-of-paris. to which 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 163 

the kalsomining easily adheres. It is important to dis- 
solve the glue in a hot- water bath, for if scorched by too 
great heat its tenacity is impaired or destroyed. Whiting 
is simply chalk freed from impurities and reduced to a fine 
powder, and is also known under the names of Paris and 
Spanish white, though the latter is really a white earth 
found in Spain. 

There is a great difference in whitewash brushes, and 
the beauty of the work, as well as the ease of performing 
it, depends very much on a good brush, making it wel'^ 
worth while to pay the difference between that and a cheap 
one. For the inexperienced it is more difficult to lay on 
tints evenly than pure white. 

Size. 

The best size for distemper colors is made from the clip- 
pings of the skin of animals, which must be subjected to 
strong boiling. Take the quantity necessary, put it into 
an iron kettle and fill it with water ; let it stand twenty- 
four hours till the pieces are thoroughly soaked. Let the 
size boil five hours, occasionally taking of£ the scum. 
When it is sufficiently boiled take it from the fire, and 
strain it through a coarse cloth. If the size is to be kept 
for a length of time, dissolve two or three pounds of alum 
in boiling water, and add to every pailful. The size must 
then be boiled again till it becomes very strong ; it must 
be strained a second time, put into a cool place, and it will 
keep sweet several months. 

Confiponndl Oolors 

Are formed by mixing two only, and will be the richest 
and best. 



164 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

I>isteiiipei:* Oolo]:*iS for Walls. 

If distemper is to b,e applied to a wall or ceiling which 
is covered with plaster, some whiting is put into water, 
where it may be easily broken and diluted if allowed time 
to soak; it must be completely saturated, and when it has 
settled, the clear water must be poured off. To correct 
the too great whiteness, and to prevent a yellow cast, grind 
separately in some water a little indigo or ivory black, 
and mix with it; then add to the mixture some strong 
size which has been previously warmed, well stirring the 
whole till properly mixed. The whole of the distemper 
must be strained while warm, in order to remove all impu- 
rities and thoroughly mix the color. When this is done, 
the distemper may be put into a cool place till it is formed 
into a weak, trembling jelly, which is the only proper 
state in which to apply it to the walls. All size distemper 
colors which are applied to walls, and which are mixed 
with whiting, should at all times be worked cold, and of a 
weak, trembling jelly, otherwise it will be impossible to 
make good work, and great care should be taken not to 
have too much body in the color, for it will certainly crack 
and fall off in scales, as it is not the strength of the size 
that causes the work to crack, but the body of color. 
There is a great advantage in having a sufficient quantity 
of size in the first coat of distemper, as it binds hard, and 
stops the suction of the wall, in consequence of which the 
next coat, if properly prepared, will not move the first 
coat, but it will work perfectly free, and when dry, the 
work will have a uniform and solid appearance. This 
method of whitewashing and coloring walls is far superior 



THE HOME MECHANIC, 165 

to lime, as it works much smoother, and when properly 
mixed and worked upon a new wall, it will not crack and 
fall off in scales; it also covers better, and after heing 
repeatedly applied for a number of years, the walls need 
no scraping, as the color easily washes off with a white- 
wash brush, after they have been well soaked with water. 

Drat), in. Size. 

An excellent Drab. — Dissolve in water, whiting, and 
grind some burnt umber very fine in water. Mix it to the 
shade required. Strain the color as usual, and mix with 
size. Raw umber will make a drab of a different shade. 

Another. Dissolve separately some whiting and yellow 
ochre in water. Take a proportionate quantity of each, and 
mix them together till a bright yellow is produced. Grind 
a little lamp-black very fine in vinegar, and with it sufiQ- 
ciently stain the color to form a drab; another shade may 
be obtained by adding a little Venetian red. Thus, by 
diversifying the proportions of the above-mentioned pig- 
ments, a great variety of shades may be produced. 

Brilliant Peach. Blossom. 

Orange lead (orpiment) and whiting when properly 
mixed, composes a beautiful and unfading color ; it is 
much used by paper stainers. Dissolve whiting in water ; 
then grind very fine in water a small quantity of orange 
lead and mix with the whiting ; add sufiicient size to the 
iriixture, and strain it through a sieve, and put it into a 
cool place till fit for use. This color must be worked in a 
jelly, as the orange lead is heavy, and would otherwise 
separate from the other parts and sink to the bottom in its 
pure state. 



166 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Excellent Gl-reen for "Walls. 

Take two pounds of mineral green, and six pounds of 
good green verditer; mix them together, and grind in 
water; mix with size, and work the color when it lias 
formed a jelly. This green has a good body, and is very 
durable. 

Another. Mix a solution of common salt and blue vit- 
riol in water ; by putting copper plates therein, a green 
precipitate will be gradually formed, which may be mixed 
with whiting, and then spread on a board to dry. 

Another — Good and Cheap. The following color must 
not be allowed to come in contact with iron, as the viti^ol 
powerfully attacks it and thereby spoils the color. 

Take eight pounds of blue vitriol (sulphate of copper), 
and two pounds of w^hiting, boil them in a brass or copper 
kettle, in three gallons of water, one hour, stirring the 
mixture the whole time till thoroughly dissolved. Pour it 
mto an earthen pan, and let it stand several days. Decant 
the water, and mix the sediment with size; apply it to 
the walls with a whitewash brush. The shade may be 
altered or improved by adding a little Dutch pink or 
chrome yellow. When required for use, it must be dis- 
solved in water, mixed with size, &c. 

Blixe ^Verditer. 

The best blue in use for distemper colors on walls. 
Dissolve some pieces of copper in aquafortis, and when 
dissolved, produce a precipitation of it by adding quick 
lime, in such doses that it will be entirely absorbed by the 
acid. In order that the precipitate may be pure copper 
without any mixture, wlien the liquor has been decanted, 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 167 

wash the precipitate, and spread it out on a piece of linen 
cloth to drain. If a portion of this precipitate, which is 
green, be placed on a grinding stone, and a little quick 
lime in powder be added, the green color will be changed 
into a beautiful blue. The proportion of lime added is 
from seven to ten parts in a hundred. As the whole 
matter has alread}'- acquired the consistency of paste, it 
soon dries. It is cheaper to buy the verditer than it is to 
make it. 

JFlrenclx O-ray. 

"Whiting predominates in this color ; it is treated as the 
other grays, but with this difference, that it admits of lake 
instead of black. Take the quantity, therefore, of whiting 
necessary, and soak it in water, then add the Prussian blue 
and lake, which has been finely ground in water. The 
quantity of each of those colors should, of course, be pro- 
portioned to the warmth of color required. This is a 
handsome and delicate color for walls. Either of the pre- 
ceding grays will answer for the first coat, as the French 
gray will cover upon it very well. Rose pink may be sub- 
stituted, but it does not make so brilliant a color, neither 
is it so durable. 

Salmon. Oolor, 

An excellent salmon color may be made by dissolving 
whiting in water, and tinging it with the best Venetian 
red, finely ground in water. A little Venetian red 
mixed with lime whitewash, and a proportionate quan- 
tity of alum, will answer very well for common purposes. 
It is important, when Venetian red is required, that you 



168 THE HOME MECHANICo 

obtain it genuine, as a spurious article is freouently sold 
for it, which, when used, spoils the intended eltect when 

applied to fine work. 

JsJtra^^pV Oolor, in Size. 

Dissolve the necessary quantity of whiting in water, 
then grind in water some chrome yellow or Dutch pink. 
Mix to the shade required, and add some strong size. 
Strain the color through a hair sieve, and set it in a cool 
place till fit for use. 

Buff. 

A good buff may be produced by dissolving separately 
whitmg and yellow ochre in water. A little Venetian 
red must be added to give the yellow a warm cast. Mix 
with size, and strain as before directed. 

Orang-e Oolor. 

For walls and stables. Use two pounds of green cop- 
peras, dissolved in hot water, just sufficient to dissolve it. 
Mix it well with eight gallons of fresh lime wash. Stir it 
well while using. 

Another. A mixture of whiting, yellow ochre, or 
Dutch pmk and orange lead. These ingredients may be 
proportioned according to one's taste. This color cannot 
be worked except in a size jelly, as the orange lead is a 
color which has great body. 

Pink. 

Dissolve in water separately, whiting and rose pink, mix 
them to the texture required ; strain the color through a 
sieve, and mix with size. 



THE HOME MECHANIO. 160 



Take a small quantity of indigo finely ground in water, 
and mix it with whiting till it produces a dark gray ; then 
add to the mixture some rose pink. Well mix and strain 
the color, and a beautiful lilac will be the result. 

Lig-lit Gri-ay. 

A small quantity of lampblack mixed with whiting com- 
poses a gray, more or less black, of course, regulates the 
shade. "With whiting, therefore, mixed with black in va- 
rying proportions, a wide range of shades may be obtained^ 
from the darkest to the lightest gray. 

Blue in Distempor. 

A good blue is made by dissolving whiting in water, 
and mixing some indigo with it. 

Lime whitewash is made from lime well slacked. Dis- 
solve two pounds and a half of alum in boiling water, and 
add it to every pailful of whitewash. Lime whitewash 
should be used very thin, and when it is sufficiently bound 
on the wall by means of alum, two thin coats will cover 
the work better ; this may be used for the first coat, 
thinned with water. Most whitewashers apply their wash 
too thick, and do not mix a proportionate quantity of alum 
to bmd It, consequently the operation of the brush rubs off 
the first coat m various parts and leaves an uneven surface^ 
and the original smooth surface of the wall is entirely 
destroyed. 



170 THB HOME MEOHANIO. 



For Ont-door Work. 

Eight ounces of lime newly slacked, by dipping it in 
water, and allowing it to break down in the open air. 
Now take two ounces of Burgundy pitch, and dissolve by 
a gentle heat in six ounces of poppy or linseed oil; then 
add to the hot lime two quarts of skimmed milk while in 
a hot state. Add the mixture of pitch and oil a little at a 
time, stirring all the while. Lastly, add three pounds of 
powdered whiting. 

G-enerally speaking, hard-finished walls are left for a 
year or two before they are painted in ordinary houses. 
Previously to painting they are sand-papered moderately. 
When this is the case, three coats are generally sufficient. 
The* first coat, not too thin, and well rubbed in. This 
should be a flat coat and left to dry. The second coat 
should have more oil than the first, and every square yard 
of the work should be struck with the points of a square 
brush before the color sets. This gives that agreeable 
roughness to the wall surface which is now the style. The 
third coat should be a dead coat, also struck with the 
points of the brush as before. This makes a handsome 
wall — not shiny — clean, and washable when soiled. 

If the walls are new, it is expedient to give either one 
coat of boiled oil, or a coat of drying paint first, and 
then a coat of thin size. This prevents the subsequent 
showing of spongy spots in the wall. After this, one coat 
of paint, not flat, struck with the brush as above, and 
then, when this is dry, a finishing coat of that color, also 
struck with the brush. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 171 

It is not customary to paint ceilings when it is desired 
only to have them in plain colors ; kalsomining is usually 
deemed sufficient in such cases. 

The colors for walls are few, French gray being pre- 
ferred in general to any other, as it is a cool looking 
color, and picture frames and Iiigh-colored faraituro, liz., 
all look the better for this neutral background. 

To Prepare Damp Walls for Painting. One pound of 
good glue dissolved in one gallon of water, and thickened 
with red lead ; to be brushed on while hot. 

To Kill Smoke on Walls. Walls, if almost black, and 
very smoky, must be brushed as clean as possible with 
a broom, and in order to kill the smoke, wash them over 
with strong pearlash or soda water, and immediately rinse 
them with clear water before the pearlash is dry. When 
dry, give them a thin coat of fresh slacked lime, with a 
good proportion of alum dissolved in hot water and mixed 
with it. The work should be finished with whiting and 
good glue size. Be careful not to apply the size distemper 
till the lime-wash is dry, as the latter will destroy the 
strength of the size if they come in contact while wet. 

To Prepare Smoky Rooms for Painting. If there is a 
smoky gloss on the part intended to be painted rub it off 
with sand paper, and whitewash over with newly-slacked 
lime. When this is dry brush it oS clean, and well scrub 
the work with strong pearlash water, and afterwards rinse 
it well with clear water ; finish by giving it a coat of weak 
size, with a little whitelead powder mixed with it, or dis- 
solve alum in hot water and brush on. 

Shellac on Walls. Where stains are very troublesome, 
a thin shellac varnish may be used as first coat previous to 
kalsomining or painting. 



172 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



mrPA.TNJ.'NC^. 



Pine, poplar, &c., may be stained in imitation of the 
various kinds of finer woods, and, when well done, much 
resembles the natural woods. Previous to staining, give & 
coat of glue size. A very good and cheap method of 

Mahogany Stain is to boil one pound of logwood in four 
quarts of water, and add a double handful of walnut peel 
ings. Boil again, take out the chips, and add one pint of 
vinegar. This does best for beech wood. 

Another. Grind burnt sienna in ale or vinegar ; make 
it thin ; spread on with a brush, and while wet, it may be 
grained and shaded with the same, thickened up with more 
sienna. 

Black Walnut. Work the same as above, using burnt 
umber. 

Yellow Stain. Grind and mix with ale or vinegar, 
aloes or gamboge ; or, make a stain by boiling curcuma in 
water. 

Chebry Stain. Good Venetian red and glue water is 
quite as good a stain as the various decoctions, and less 
trouble and expense. A decoction of red sanders is some- 
times used. 

Bemarks, — All tools may be obtained in the paint and 
drug stores by the names they are called throu^out this 
work. 

Glazing is a thin, transparent color, mixed up thin, and 
spread thinly over grained work or other ornament, for the 
purpose of giving the work more depth. 

Where work is to be glazed, there is always more coii> 
trmst in the lights and darks of the under work. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 173 



Prlnoiples of* CrUuss Stalwlng* 

This beautiful branch of the art is quite too much ne^ 
lected. The gorgeous display that may be made, and that 
Aas been so successfully done by some artists, is sufficient to 
excite the desire to bring it into more general use. One can 
conceive of no more beautiful method of ornamenting the 
windows of churches and public buildings, or, in fact, any- 
*Jiing in the way of ornamenting on glass. The following 
method is the one now in general use. Before engaging in 
this, it would be better if the artist could get some little pre- 
vious instruction. We will endeavor to give the correct 
principles in regard to the oven, the baking, the colors, and 
the manner of making and using them. 

The Oven is made of fire brick, and arched over like a 
common bake oven. This is to admit of an iron chest, or 
muffle, as it is called, so close on the outside that neither 
fire nor smoke can penetrate, and about three or four inches 
less than the oven, so that there may be an equal space at 
the top, bottom, and sides, with legs to keep it from the 
bottom. 

The sheet of glass to be worked upon (the softer the glass 
the better) should be spread over with gum water, and let 
dry, in order to prevent the colors from running together, it 
being also much better than the slippery glass to work on. 
After it is dry, lay it down evenly upon the design, which 
has been previously sketched upon paper, and trace, with a 
fine hair pencil, all the outlines and shades of the picture 
or ornament with black. [See the mode of the preparation 
of colors at the end of this article.] 

The Lights ahj> Shapes are produced by dots, lines, 
and hatches, very much after the manner of the engraver. 
When this is finished and dry, it is ready for tht 



174 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

pLOATiNa. Take the prepared colors and float them ob 
by dipping the pencil in the color, and taking it, as full as it 
will hold, to the glass, and just near enough so that the mix- 
ture will flow out upon the glass, care being taken that the 
pencil does not touch the glass, as it leaves a spot. This 
refers only to transparent colors. 

Taking out the Lights. The methods of doing this, 
after the color is on, are various. Perhaps the best way is 
to take a goose-quill, made in the shape of a pen, without 
the slit. With this the artist may take out the lights by 
dots, lines, &c., to suit his taste. It is then ready for the 
kiln or oven. 

Over the bottom of the oven, or muffle, must be spread, 
about a half inch thick, a bed of slacked lime, perfectly dry, 
and sifted through a sieve. Upon this lay a sheet of glass, 
then another layer of lime, and so on, if desired, for half a 
dozen sheets, though for very fine work, and where uni- 
formity of coloring is required, it is better to have a less 
number. There may be quite a number of iron slides in 
the muffle, so that a number of glasses may be burned at 
one heat, without having more than one or two upon each 
slide. Close the muffle and raise the fire ; but gradually, 
or the heat will break the glass. 

After it is got up to a red heat, it may remain so for two, 
three, or four hours, according to the tests, which are strips 
of glass, painted with the same colors as the sheets, and 
drawn out occasionally. When the colors are properly 
burned in, the fire may die away gradually, as it was raised. 
When cold, the glass is taken out and well cleaned. 

The chemicals mentioned in the following preparation of 
colors, may be had at most of the first-class drug stores^ 
lliese preparations should be combined, so that each shall 
require about the same amount of heating to bring out the 
oolor. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 173 

Oolox-s far Staining CrloMm* 

Flesh. 
Red Lead, .... 1 onnce. 
Bed Enamel, ... 2 ounces. 

Grind to a fine powder ; work it np with alcohol, on h 
Ug stone. Requires slight baking. 

Black. 
Iron scales, . . . .14^^ ounces. 
White Crystal Glass, . . 2 ounces. 
Antimony, .... 1 ounce. 

Manganese, . . . . j- ounce. 

Pound fine, and grind in strong vinegar. 

Bbilllant Black. 
Made to any degree of depth by the mixture of cobah 
ffith the oxides of iron and manganese. 

Bbown. 
White Glass, .... 1 ounce. 
Manganese, . . . . j^ ounoe. 

Rich Bsomr. 
Oxide of Platinum. 

Red. 

Red Chalk, .... 1 ounce. 

White, hard Enamel, . . 2 ounces. 

Peroxide of Copper, . • .1 drachm. 

FiMs Red. 
Rust of Iron, ... 2 ounces. 

Glass of Antimony, . • .2 ounces. 
Litharge, . • • • 2 ounces. 

Solphuret of SilTer . • . ^ drachm. 



176 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Green. 
Brass Dost, .... 2 •aaces. 
Bed Lead, .... 2 ounces. 

White Sand, .... 8 ounces. 

Calcine the brass to an oxide, and make all into a fint 
powder. Heat in a crucible one hour, in a hot oven. 
When cold, grind in a brass mortar. 

Green. Oxide of Chrome. 

Green. Blue on one side, yellow on the other. 

Yellow. Fine silver, dissolved in nitric acid. Dilute 
with plenty of water. Pour in a strong solution of salt, 
and the silver, in the form of chloride of silver, will fall to 
the bottom in a yellow powder. When settled, pour off the 
fluid ; fill up with water ; when settled, pour off again, and 
so on for five or six times. When dry, mix the powder 
with three times its weight in pipe clay, well burned and 
pounded. Paint on the back of the glass. 

Yellow. Sulphuret of silver, glass of antimony, and 
burnt yellow ocher. 

Yellow. Chloride of silver, oxide of zinc, white clay, 
and rust of iron. 

It is by far the best method to buy the colors, if possible, 
ready prepared. Some, however, rrnist be manufactured 
by the artist. Among them are, — 

Blue. Oxide of cobalt, which is cobalt ore, after being 
well roasted, is dissolved in diluted nitric acid. Add con- 
siderable water, and pour into it a strong solution of car- 
bonate of soda. A carbonate of cobalt is thrown to the 
bottom in a powder. Wash well, as for chloride of silver, 
and let dry. Mix this with three times its weight of salt- 
peter. Burn this mixture in a crucible, by putting a red 
liot coal to it. Heat, wash, and dry it. Three pints of this 
to one of a flux made of white sand, borax, saltpeter, and a 
very little chalk, melted together for an hour, and then 



THE Home mechanic. 177 

ground into an enamel powder for use. Any shade maj be 
had hj more or less flax. 

Violet. 

Black Oxide of Manganese, • 1 oxmoe. 

Zafier, 1 ounce. 

Founded White Glass, • • 10 ounces. 
Bed Lead, • • • • 1 ounce. 

Mix, fuse, and grind. 

Bemarks. — The fluxes are made of flint glass, borax, 
pipe clay, white sand, &c. 

The principles of glass staining, and making the colors, 
therefore, will be found of great service to beginners ; yet it 
must be understood that the practice will be very difficult, 
without some practical instructions ; yet, one who has a 
taste, and some scientific ability, may be enabled, by study- 
ing these rules closely, and by a few trials in experimenting, 
to succeed in producing the work properly. 



Rules fbx> BJCeasnrlnef Painter's "Work. 

In regard to measuring work, it is generally understood 
that the measurer's judgment must be exercised to a great 

xtent. Hence, all work that may not come under any of 

hese heads, must be left entirely to him. 

The following rules are given as sort of landmarks, and 
are intended to aid the painter not only in the measurement 
after the work is finished, but in making out bills and prop- 
ositions for work, and they will also enable him to guess 
at the value of a job. The price, however, or the amount 
of deduction on this fiill bill, may be made according to the 
prices of material and wages ; for at some seasons both 
Wages and material, as also living, are much cheaper than 



178 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

•then, oonseqnentlj a per cent, on or ofif the bill m&y soma 
limes be necessary. 

Prices peb Squabb Yabd. 

Common Cheap Colors, — 

First coat, 10 cents. 

Second coat, . • • • 5 cents. 

Third coat, • • • . 4 cents. 

Fourth coat, . • • • 4 cents. 

Blues, Chrome YeUow, Light Green, — 

First coat, 14 cents. 

Second coat, .... 10 cents. 

Third coat, .... 7 cents. 

Fourth coat, .... 7 cents. 

Dark Green, Emerald, and other Costly Colors, — 

First coat, 16 cents. 

Second coat, . • • . 14 cents. 
Third coat, • • • . 9 cents. 
Fourth coat, . • • • 8 cents. 



One coat over the sand, . 


14 cents. 


Second coat over the sand, • 


9 cents. 


Oiling brick, . . • 


6 cents. 


Penciling brick, • 


. 12 cents. 


Painting on Brick, -— 




First coat, • • • • , 


18 cents. 


Second coat, • • • • 


10 cents. 


Third coat, • • • . 


8 cents. 


Fourth coat, . • • . 


8 cents. 



Other costly colors, per yard, extra, from 8 to 15 cents, 
according to the cost of the color and roughness of the work, 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 179 

Graining, per square yard, for fair jobs, $1.00 ; varying, 
however, according to the amount and quality of labor, 
adding or deducting 50 cents. 

Polishing, per square yard, 60 cents. 

Puttying, for all work, add 5 per cent. 

Sand-papering and cleaning, 5 per ceM. 

GiBTHING OB MEASUBma. 

Plain cornices, boxing, &c., girth once and a half, or one 
IkMlf its measurement added. 

Block and dentile, or other equivalent ornament, once, 
twice, or three times its measurement added, according to 
the difficulty of the labor. . 

All other ornament, difficult to paint or to get at, meas- 
ure from once to five times its real girth. 

Barge boards, water spouts, gutters, &c., measure three 
times. 

Paling and railed gates, measure and a half, that is, 
three heights, besides girthing the rails and posts of the 
railing, if done with one color ; but if the pales are topped 
with another color, one foot extra. 

All stone facias, window and door arches, and siUSf 
double. 

Window and door frames, in and outside, double. 

Venetian shutters, double the measure of plain work. 

Past and railed fences to be girthed both post and rails, 
and one half more added to the girth. 

Window bars shall be measured square. Window sash 
the same, if done with one color ; but if done with two, they 
shall be double measure. 

Comer strips on frame houses, if painted with a different 
color from the weather-boards, to girth double. 

Bough weather-boarding and old roofs, double measure. 

Oiling and penciling on brick work shall be measured 



180 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

■qaare, and on dead walls, firom one fifth to one third added 
to the measurement. 

Balusters (either inside or outside), to be measured three 
sides ; if the hand rail is capped with a different color, one 
foot more to be added. 

Comer strips, comer beads, and single architravet, 
double ; double architraves, girth three times. 

Pilasters, two or three times. 

String boards to girth twice. 

Wash boards, base boards, &c., double; capped with 
another color, six inches added. 

Mouldings, measure twice and three times, according to 
work. 

Base, or stair-case, twice and a half. 

Panels, to be allowed two inches in height and breadth 
for each panel ; but if the panels are done with one color 
and stiles of another, measure and half; if the mouldings 
are done with another color, double measure. 

Edges of plain shelves, three inches girth ; beaded or oth. 
erwise, from three to six inches girth. 

Painting on plastering shall be measured square, and the 
openings deducted; making suitable allowance for cutting 
edges, and one third added to the measurement. 

Sizing the walls of plastering, three cents per square yard. 

All beads or grooves, too narrow to measure, one inch 
added for each. 

All picked out work, to be valued according to trouble. 

All work not herein expressed, to be measured according 
to the judgment of the measurer. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 181 



KCJLES FOB MEASimiNd BrICK W«KK. 

All painting on brick shall be measured square, and th« 
openings deducted, that is to say, the actual opening which 
^be sash or door occupies, allowing the thickness of the 
door or window-frames to make up for the reveals ; if the 
frames or reveals are of an uncommon thickness or depth, a 
proper allowance shall be made by the measurer. If the 
stone or brick caps or arches are or are not painted the 
same color as the waU, there shall be no change from the 
above rule ; but if they are painted with a different color, 
they shall be called from one to two feet girth, the price to 
be according to color, and number of coats of that color. If 
the stone sills are done with a different or with the same 
color as the wall, they shall be called from one to two feet 
girth, accor(flng to color and number of coats. Stone or 
brick facias and water-tables, if done with the same color as 
the wall, they shall be measured in with it ; but if painted 
with a different color, they shall be measured the same as 
stone sills, &c. 

N. B. No reference is to be had to the above rules for 
measuring stone facias, &c., where the walls are not painted 

Pmces for Glazing. 
Prices for glazing new sash, and furnishing the putty : 



8 by 10, per light, . 


, 4 cents. 


9 or 10 by 12, per light, 


6j cents. 


10 by 14 or 15, per light, 


• 8 cents. 


11 by 15, per light, 


9 cents. 


11 by 16, per light, . 


. 10 cents. 


12 by 16 or 18, per light, . 


12^ cents. 


14 by 20, per light, . 


. 16 cents. 


16 by 22, per light, . 


20 cents. 



182 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

When the glazier furnishes the glass, the usual retail 
prices shall be charged. If there is a percentage taken off 
the bill, the charge for the glass shall not be subject to it. 

When the glass is bedded, the glazing shall be doubled. 
If back-puttied, price and a half. 

Prices for glazing old sash, and furnishing the glass and 
putty : 

8 by 10, per light, . . . 12J cents. 

9 or 10 by 12, per light, . . 18 J cents. 

10 by 14 or 16, per light, . 25 cents. 

11 by 15, per light, . . 31 J cents. 

11 by 16, per light, . . .37^ cents. 

12 by 16 or 18, per light, . 50 cents. 
14 by 20, per light, . $1.00. 

16 by 22, per light, . . $1.25. 

When the glass is furnished, the usual retail prices shall 
be deducted from the above. If there is a percentage taken 
iff the bill, the charge for the glass shall not be subject 
to it. 

Prices op Sign Paintino. 

Lettering is measured running measure, measuring the 
length of each line of letters, without regard to their 
heights. 

Plain letters, per foot, . • 30 cents. 

One shade, add ... 10 cents. 

Double shade, add . . .20 cents. 

Crold letters, per foot, . . $1.00. 

Shading, the same as other letters. 

Other fancy and ornamental letters and shading, shading 
on the surface of the gold, add according to labor, being 
guided by the standard. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 183 

JapADiied tin, in gold, running measure, per inch, 7 cents. 

Shading, per inch, 2 cents. 

Lettering on glass, running measure, per inch, 7 cents. 

Colored letters on glass, tin, stone, or other columns, and 
r11 small boards, running measure, per inch, 3 cents. 

Dashes and other plain ornaments, measured as letters. 

Grold borders, per square inch, 3 cents. 

In gilding plain surfaces, the labor is equal to the cost 
of the gold. Ornaments in proportion to the labor. 

These rules will serve as a guide in proportioning the 
prices to the amount of labor. It would take a volume to 
adapt a full list of prices to meet every variety of lettering 
and ornamenting ; and these prices may be considered as a 
standard, subject to being modified to suit the amount of 
oo0t And labor. 



184 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



A TREATISE ON PAPER HANGING, 

In which the Practical Operations of the Business are laid down, with 

Plain Directions preparatory to Hanging all Kinds of Paper at.d 

Wood Hangings, 

Preventive Against Damp on Walls, 

The Different Kinds of Pastes, Size, Cements, &c., adapted to the Several 

Purposes ol the Trade; and Directions for the Paneling and 

Ornamentation of Rooms, &c. 

By Thomas I<inn, A Practical Workman of Forty Years' Experience:, 



My plea for presenting this little treatise is, that there is at 
present no work of the kind which gives to the million any 
idea of this business, and that I think I shall do a good work bj' 
presenting in this form a guide to any one of average capacity 
to hang paper properly. I do not wish the public generally to 
think that the operation consists in the mere sticking of paper on 
the wall, for the professed paper hanger is aware of the many 
difficulties which present themselves from various causes, and 
which have to be surmounted before the walls or grounds are in a 
tit state to receive paper; this, in these fast days, is too frequently 
neglected, A great many think that almost any person who can 
be engaged at low wages can do the work cheaper and as well as 
a professed workingman; but a little reflection and experience 
will soon teach them that a good paper hanger will do the work 
in half the time, make less dirt, waste and cost than the slap-bang 
innovator. 

In the following treatise I have endeavored to explain clearly 
the requisites for each department of work. 

The few remarks on coloring in distemper and varnishing paper 
will, I hope, be considered worthy of notice. In conclusion, I beg 
to draw attention to that part of the book relating to the care re- 
quired in the management of hanging crimson-stained ground 
papers, forty inch, plain tints, stamped gold, wood hangings, etc. 

Tools for Paper Ranging. — The tools required are few and well 
known, but as some of them will be referred to, I will insert them 
here. Overalls (with bib, large pocket across, long and narrow 
pocket for rule, and open slide for shears), long trimming shears 
and wet shears, straight edge, paste board, plumb-bob, rule, paper 
brush, paste brush, paste pail, size kettle, step-ladder and roller. 

Before commencing, have ready some pumicestoue sand paper, 
a basin of cold water, and two or three soft towels; I recommend 
the using of the large round brush for pasting, as it takes up the 
paste cleaner and more readily, and can be turned in the hand 
easily; the paper brush I only use on soft, light paper, which can- 
not be handled much; on forty inch tint, etc., always use the roller. 

Pastes for Paper Hanging. — It is well known that it is impossi- 



THE HOME MECHAKIC. 185 

ble to make good adhesive paste of any other than good sound wheat 
flour. It is perfectly useless to try any other. Much has been said 
of various substitutes, but I never heard of any success in their use. 

Much more depends on the proper adaptation of the kinds of 
paste to the several purposes to which they have to be applied 
than is taken into general consideration. 

Many who attempt paper hanging use one kind of paste for all 
purposes, without regard to circumstances ; but as 1 am of the 
opinion that much depends on the application of suitable paste to 
certain walls and paper, I shall give those which I have found to 
answer best in cases where they have been applied. 

No. 1 is the paste as generally used, and will answer for most 
papers , the quantity is sufiicient for a day's work. Beat up four 
pounds of good white wheat flour in cold water — enough to form 
a stiff batter (sifting the flour first) ; beat it well, to take out all 
lumps ; then add enough cold water to make it the consistence of 
pudding batter ; add about two ounces of well pounded alum. 
Be sure and have plenty of boiling water ready ; take it quite 
boiling from the fire, and pour gently and quickly over the bat- 
ter, stirring rapidly at the same time ; and when it is observed to 
swell and lose the white color of the flour, it is cooked and ready. 

This will make about three-quarters of a pail of solid paste ; do 
not use it while hot ; allow it to cool and it will go further ; you 
may put about a pint of cold water over the top of it, to prevent 
it skinning ; before using, thin this with cold water to spread 
easily and quickly under the brush. This paste will keep a long 
while without fermenting, when it is useless ; mold on the top 
does not hurt it ; remove it, the remainder is good. 

No. 3. This paste is made the same as No. 1, with the excep- 
tion that no particle of alum is used. 

No. 3. This paste is seldom wanted, except where great adhe- 
siveness is required. In a kettle or iron pan of suitable size, mix 
flour with cold water in the same manner as in No. 1 ; make the 
batter of much less consistence, and to two quarts of batter add 
half an ounce of pounded rosin. As the rosin does not dissolve 
so readily, set the pan containing the ingredients over a moderate 
fire, constantly stirring until it boils and thickens, and a short 
time after put out to cool. 

As some adhesive liquid is required to reduce its consistence, I 
would recommend a thin gum arable water as the best. This paste 
is indispensable in papering over varnished paper or painted walls. 

No. 4. This paste is made in the same way as No. 3, without 
the gum, for the reasons already explained. 

Sizing for Walls. — Walls that have been whitewashed or 
colored require sizing and scraping. It is hardly necessary for 
me to explain that size is simply glue and water ; for ordinary 
purposes the common black glue is sufficient ; for sizing paper 
preparatory to varnishing, the best German white glue is neces- 
sary. In making'size, take your glue and soak over night in cold 
water, and then add hot water until dissolved. 



186 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Preparation of Walls or Orourids. — It is highly essential to the 
attainment of neatness and perfection in paper hanging that the 
walls or grounds should be in a proper state to receive it ; there 
are few things either in art or science that do not require a sound 
and clear foundation, and the preparation for paper hanging is 
no exception to that rule. 

In White or Colored Walls in Distemper. — As I said before, 
those walls that are whitewashed or colored require a very care- 
ful preparation. Some rooms have been whitewashed so often 
that one coat on another has amounted to the thickness of a coat 
of plaster. All this must be removed by damping and scraping. 
Care must be used to indent the walls as little as possible, as the 
blemishes will not be hidden by the paper. 

Observe particularly that the top, bottom, and angles are well 
scraped ; after filling all inequalities with plaster of Paris, wash 
over the walls with hot size, and they are ready. 

Plaster of Paris is a very useful article for the paper hanger, 
merely mixing it with water, and applying to all holes. It is the 
best thing I ever used, as it does not contract in drying. 

On the Preparation of Grounds Affected with Damp. — Damp 
is one of the worst things with which a paper hanger has to con- 
tend, and a great many means are resorted to for overcoming it. 
The following are among the best : 

No. 1. Wall metal ; No. 2. Battening for lath and plaster ; 
No. 3. Battening and canvasing ; No. 4. Strong brown paper ; 
No. 5. Ivy on outside walls. Of these, the surest plan is batten- 
ing for lath and plaster ; but as it is attended with much trouble 
and expense, it is seldom used. This is a plasterer's work, and, 
as it is well known, it is useless to describe it. 

Battening and canvasing is a very good method. The wooden 
plugs or battens must be made of good hard wood, and driven 
well into the wall ; they must be placed close to the top, bottom, 
and windows, and fire-place, and double, to form a right angle at 
each of the corners ; then cut, and have your canvas back- 
stitched in sizes that each piece may cover a side or end ; stretch 
and tack on the battens with tinned tacks ; use very stifi paste 
over canvas work. 

Wall metal, or sheet lead, is very good. It can be used to 
good advantage on parts of walls, as some lower sides next an 
alley, etc. As it is made now, it can be evenly pressed on the 
wall with strong paste. No. 1. 

Strong brown paper is next best for damp walls. It is made at 
the mills, of immense size. When using, cut off the rough edges, 
and wet it well with water; let it stand until soft and pliable. As 
it is mostly in demand for parts of walls partly damp, or to level 
the unevenness of walls, it should be put on with tinned tacks, as 
others rust and show through fine papers. 

Ivy on Outside Walls. — This preventive of damp is not in a 
paper hanger's line ; but as I have had some experience in it, I 
give it. I found that on walls that are affected with damp, if 



THE HOME MECHANIC. A 

ivy or some close leaved plant is grown so that its close over- 
hanging leaves prevent the rain and moisture from permeating 
the wall, in a little time it will leave the wall inside dry. 

On Hanging Common Papers. — Having given the remedies for 
the various obstacles which present themselves, I will give a few 
plain directions to hang paper after the wall is properly prepared 
and the tools in order. Trim the paper close to the pattern on 
one side, and within one-eighth of an inch on the other for a lap; 
measure the number of breadths required, and cut from your 
pieces, leaving remnants for over doors and windo-w s ; then com- 
mence hanging. Try and begin at a bead or where it will not 
show when you stop ; the bead down the left side of the mantel 
is the best place. Work all papers to the left, and in hanging 
they will always be on your right and can be easily cut and 
fitted in the angles as you proceed. Try and make the lapping 
joint face the light so that it may not be seen. Many striped 
and formal patterns require uniformity ; always make them 
center over the mantel and between piers. My method to do 
this is to cut a slip of paper of the size of the mantel and try it 
across the paper until you strike that part of the pattern that 
will come the same on both sides ; then cut off each breadth on 
each side enough to make the part measured come on each 
side. 

On Pasting Paper. — Lay your breadths carefully on your table, 
and bring the first piece just to the edge. Have your paste pail 
and brush at your right hand, and take a brushful of paste and 
begin from left to right. Double over the paper and pass to the 
left, and finish and double the balance. You should observe to 
fold the longest part to commence with at the right top, for the 
obvious reason of having your breadth plumb and matching the 
pattern. With borders it is well to paste double and cut after 
pasting ; it is the fastest way. 

Lining Paper. — Lining paper is, in most cases, to be recom- 
mended as a ground for delicate paper hangings. It adds much 
to a soft effect, also making an evenness to a wall, a quicker ab- 
sorption of the paste, the want of which is frequently injurious 
to stained grounds. It is to be had at the mills in large rolls cut 
off in breadths the same as the paper. Hang without lapping. 

Hanging Mock Papers with Crimson Stained Oround. — I be- 
lieve that this kind requires more care and attention than any 
other, therefore I hope my method will be acceptable. These 
papers are subject to discoloration even by trifling misman- 
agement. Pastes Nos. 2 and 4 must be used. Have them in 
separate vessels, with a brush to each; as great adhesiveness is 
only required on the lap edge, paste it with No. 4, the rest of 
breadth with No. 2. The advantage of this system will be ob- 
vious to a paper hanger. He will know that this paper does not 
require a quantity of strong paste. All joints must be cut with 
a sharp knife. The edge must butt, as in forty-inch tints. Be 
careful to take off with your knife all the little pips or marks of 



B THE HOM^E MECHANIC. 

flock projecting beyond the pattern. Gold molding is the only 
suitable border. 

Paneling. — For effect in panel work much depends on taste, 
and often the workman is .directed by the owner or employer ; 
but he should know how to produce certain effects. Where the 
fireplace, doors, and windows are situated about uniformly in a 
room there is no difficulty to decide. Make your styles and vails 
in a regular size according to the height of the room ; to a ten- 
feet room, say about six-inch vails, etc ; to a room to be done 
in wood, make rosewood style and light oak centers with suitable 
moldings and reverse according to taste. Another mode of panel- 
ing is to make each side in one panel where the doors and win- 
dows are not alike ; this is an excellent plan. In all apartments 
of a paneled room there should be a full panel, and the greatest 
nicety should be observed in centering the pattern in the panel, 
for where pictures are to be placed in them the least deviation 
from uniformity will be seen and it is displeasing to any critical 
eye. As before stated, be careful to have the laps toward the light. 

Wood Hangings, Forty -inch Tints, Stamped Gold^ etc. — Of wood 
hangings 1 would not recommend a general use ; they will not 
answer on a whole room, but I have found that some woods, the 
soft maples, cedar, birch, etc., make very pretty and durable 
work. My secret for applying them is as follows : Have your 
wood cut to the right size, and then with a soft sponge apply 
glycerine ; let it stand over night and the woods will be as 
pliable as paper ; then apply to the walls with paste No. 3; 
rub down with wooden scraper. On forty-inch tints and wood 
papers I would always have two workmen pasting with paste 
No. 3. I have found these papers to stain when one is pasting, 
on account of not being able to apply the paste evenly. The 
same remarks apply to stamped gold, etc. One of the best plans 
I have found to trim plain tints and stamped golds is, that having 
no pattern to cut, to drive an awl through the piece and trim by 
the small holes made ; drive the awl within an eighth of an 
Inch of the end of the piece. Always apply these papers with 
paper hangers' rollers made of wood with cloth covering. I find 
it a good plan, when butting the edge of plain tints, to roll the 
edges with a bed castor, which will effectually prevent any 
seams from being seen. 

Cautions to Paper Hangers. — Poisonous Paper, etc. — It is need- 
less, I think, to caution any good workman against using paste 
and refuse to fill holes in plastering, preparatory to papering. 
This has caused severe illness to occupants of the room. The 
common plan of papering over old paper, in some cases many 
layers, is bad, as mold is apt to result. Formerly all green 
papers were objectionable on account of the arsenic. Now ani- 
line has taken its place in some of the green papers, but flock 
or velvet papers are injurious not only on account of the color 
being poisonous in some cases, but also owing to the dust which 
comes off into the air. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 187 



Sip. Carriage aiib §Mratik ipaiittiitg. 

SIQN PAINTING. 



Sign Painting is an art of a very exalted character, 
and when brought to a state of perfection, viz., true color- 
ing, fine, accurate divisions, and proportions duly balanced, 
it is entitled to rank with fresco and landscape painting. 
Indeed, I know of nothing more pleasing to the eye than a 
sign where all the requirements are brought to bear in per- 
fect unison — " a true sense of color in contrast " — a sweet 
harmony of tone, a chastenessof composition, upon which the 
senses can rest with entire satisfaction. These are the 
points which we wish the reader and leamer to attain, and 
which we shall strive to make intelligible and clear. Too 
many men learn and hoard up, like very misers, and too 
many die with the gainings of a lifetime locked in their 
bosoms, rather than give such knowledge to benefit those 
who succeed them. And it may reasonably be supposed 
that the arts and sciences are scores of years behind what 
they would have been but for this very selfishness. 

In everyday practice how often do we see attempts made 
at sign painting by those who, through ignorance of the 
first and most essential px-inciples, who know nothing about 
the true method of preparing grounds, the proper propor- 
tioning of the letters, the divisions of distances, parallels, 
contrasts of color, and other requisites to a good or at- 
tractive sign ; how often have we seen such signs attempted 
and become objects of ridicule, even among people who 
knew nothing of the business themselves ^. An artistic 
sign is attractive in more ways than one, and an unartistic 
one is agreeable to none. 

Before entering upon the general outline of procedure, it 
will be well to give an outline of the nature and properties 



188 i'HE HOME MECHANIC. 

of colors employed in sign painting, together with the oils, 
sizes, varnisheSj &c. 

O O IL. O R, S. 

I 

Red Vermilion. — This is a bright scarlet, a chemical 
compound of mercui^ and sulphur. The best article now 
in the market is of English manufacture. 

Red Lead. — This is an oxide, of orange tinge, very 
liable to turn black. 

India Red. — This is an ochre, brought from the East 
Indies ; its shade inclines to purple. It works freely and 
stands well. 

COLCOTHEE. — A red oxide of iron. It is often called 
" Indian Red/' which is wrong. It is obtained by the dis- 
tillation or calcination of sulphate of iron. The fine color 
inclines more to the scarlet than the purple. It stands well. 

Venetian Red. — A native ochre combined with iron. 
When well washed, to fi-ee it from its sandy particles, is a 
fine, mellow, pleasant red. It is very useful, and stands well. 

Red Ochee. — Is yellow ochre calcined as deep as the 
iron it contains will oxidize. A very useful color for shad- 
ing in gold signs, etc. 

Oaemine. — The most valuable of that class of colors, 
being the heaviest body-color obtained by the manufacture 
of lake. It is made from cochineal, precipitated by solu- 
tion of tin J or the best lake from madder, by Sir H. Engle- 
field's process. 

Oheome Yellow. — This is a chromate of lead, and is 
prepared by the following process : Take a solution of 
chromate of potash in hot water and add another solution 
of acetate of lead (sugar of lead). If wanted very pale 
use a little nitric acid ; and if dark shades are required, use 
bi-carbonate of potash, and by the addition of a few drops 
of muriatic acid you can deepen the tint down to orange. 

Naples Yellow. — This is prepared by lead and antimony. 
It is much used and stands tolerably well, although of but 
little use to the sign painter. 

Yellow Ochre. — This color is a native earth. Some 
specimens are very bright, and all are durable in oil and 
work freely. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 189 

Terra de Sienna. — This is a brighter and deeper yel- 
low than most of the other ochres. It is found principally 
in Italy, and is a valuable color. 

TuRPiTH Mineral. — This is brighter in color than any 
other yellow, except king's yellow. It works like vermilion, 
which it greatly resembles in strength of color, etc. 

King's Yellow. — Is a combination of sulphur and 
arsenic. It is a strong poison, but has a deep, rich color, 
although not durable. 

Blues are principally composed of sulphate of iron and 
prussiate of potash. These blues are generally called 
Prussian blue, Antwerp blue, celestial blue, etc. They are 
all of a fugitive character in oil. 

Ultramarine. — This is the richest and brightest of all 
blues, but is too expensive to be used in house, sign, or 
ornamental painting, costing usually about twenty -five dol- 
lars per ounce. But a very good and cheap substitute has 
been discovered, manufactured from carbonate of soda, 
sulphur, cobalt and kaoline. It works well and is durable. 

Cobalt. — This is the oxide of cobalt, but its manufac- 
ture is too complicated to describe in this little work. It 
is a beautiful shade of blue, and both works and stands well. 

GREENS. 

Brunswick Green — is copper dissolved in a solution 
of muriate of ammonia. It is a good, pure green and 
stands well. 

Chrome Green. — Green chromium is a compound of bi- 
chromate of potash and flower of sulphur, but the manu- 
facture is too intricate to find a place here. It is a rich and 
splendid green. Chrome green, formed by a union of 
chrome yellow and Prussian blue, can be made of any shade 
by using more or less of one or the other of the colors.' 
They are very durable. 

Verdigris. — Copper reduced by a vegetable acid. It 
can be used by the addition of a little chrome yellow. It 
stands well, and is a good color for shading, etc., being 
transparent. 

A beautiful transparent green ca^i be made as follows : 
Pulverize sugar of lead and blue vitriol (sulphate of cop- 



190 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

per), then put the two dry powders together ; mix iJiem 
well with the knife on a marble slab or glass. The vitriol 
and lead, more or less of either, varies the color, making it 
brighter or darker. This is a beautiful green for glazing 
gold, or anything requiring a transparent tint. It is durable. 

Schbel's Green. — Arseniate of potash and acetate of 
copper. Beautiful, but poisonous, and should at all times 
be used with extreme caution. 

Emerald Geeen^. — A composition of yellow arsenic and 
verdigris. A most malignant poison. I have known paint- 
ers to spit blood after merely mixing and grinding forty or 
fifty pounds of that mineral, and the taste would not leave 
the mouth for days. Avoid such a color as you value your 
health. 

WHITES. 

Elake White. — The best formerly came from Italy, 
where the acid of the grape was employed in the manu- 
facture, instead of common acetic acid. It is a pure white 
but liable to change. The flake white made in England 
and Germany retains its purity to the end. 

Kremmtze White. — This is simply white, corroded in 
a small scale in ''■ chambers " instead of being done in 
^' stacks,'' the old Dutch method. It must consequently be 
free from any sulphate of hydrogen or ammonia, and hence 
its superiority over the others. 

Zinc White. — An oxide of that metal, the result of 
combustion, commonly called '' chemical wool." It is a 
beautiful white, not quite so full in body as white lead, but 
possessing no affinity for either sulphide of hydrogen or 
ammonia, or any other of the obnoxious gases. It retains 
its brilliant whiteness longer than any white pigment known, 
with the exception of a white prepared from antimony, 
which has, however, never as yet become an article of com- 
merce. 

BLACKS. 

Lamp Black. — The soot collected from burning animal 
or vegetable matter. It should always be calcined before 
using, as it, will then dry better and make better color. 



TBB HOM£ MECHANIC. 191 

Iyory BLA.CK. — This beautiful black is prepared by the 
calcinatiou of ivory and bones in close vessels. It is the 
purest and most valuable color in the sign painting busi- 
ness. 

BROWNS. 

Umber. — The Turkey umber is the best ; the English 
IS rated second. They are good drying colors. In their 
raw state they also class as olive colors, but when calcined 
are a fine, rich brown. They are good and durable, and 
also very useful to a sign painter. 

Terra de Siexxa. — When burned this is a very rich 
color, much in repute with fresco, sign, and decorative 
painters. It keeps its color well. 

Purple Brown. — This is composed of prussic acid with 
the oxide of copper. It is a very fine color, and produces 
with white very fine lilac tints. It is also a good grounding 
color, and stands well. 

ASPHALTTJM. — This is a bituminous substance, of a deep, 
rich brown color 5 transparent, and a good glazing or shad- 
ing gold or any other work. It works well with boiled oil 
or turpentine. It is found on the shores of the Dead Sea 
and in Judea, 

Note. — I would here mention the necessity of procuring 
good, pure linseed oil. This is a very essential point, as 
many of the oils in the market are adulterated with fish 
and animal oils, and are, therefore, entirely unfit for use. 

Patent dryers act very well, if pure, but as they are all 
more or less adulterated with whiting, which imparts a 
toughness which destroys their fluidity or flowing qualities, 
I would advise the artist to make his own. 

Grind either sugar of lead or sulphate of zinc (white 
vitriol) in raw linseed oil, or equal quantities of both to- 
gether. One teaspoonful will dry from twenty to twenty- 
five pounds of color. This dryer will not injure the most 
delicate color, even the purest white. 



193 THE HOME MEOHANZO. 

DRYING JAPAN. 

This dryer, if of a proper quality and light in color, a 
teaspoonful will dry from twenty-five to thirty pounds of 
color. 

Smalts of various colors are required, and I would here 
state, upon my own experience, that they can be purchased 
better and cheaper than they can be manufactured. I would 
advise all painters to purchase at any respectable color 
store, where their own experience has given them confidence. 

A few more necessaries are required, such as a slab and 
muiler of white marble, a pallet knife, pots, paint-brushes, 
etc., etc. Let the brushes range in No.'s from 2 to 300. 
Also a few tools, commonly called sash-tools, from No. 4 
to 8. Flat French tools, various sizes ; a few round tools, 
bound in tin ; also a stock of sable tools, short, medium, 
and long, to suit all subjects that may Qccur. 

Camel-hair tools and pencils are also good, and gener- 
ally lay the color finer than sable. A bench is also re- 
quired ] an easel ; a set of pallets, of hard wood or ivory ; 
a mall stick (a small slender rod of firm wood, with a ball 
of cotton at one end covered with chamois skin;, to support 
the right hand. Some artists discard the mall stick alto- 
gether, as it hinders a perfect freedom of the pencil, but it 
is best for beginners, or any one slightly nervous. 

A rinsing cup is also necessary ; a small tin cup, made 
to hold about a gill. Have a small cup made to fit into 
the large one — about one-third as deep — perforated on the 
bottom with small holes ; fill the large cup with turpentine 
until it reaches over the perforated bottom of the inner cup; 
rinse the pencils in this, and the refuse color from them will 
settle to the bottom of the large cup, leaving the turpen- 
tine always clear. They should afterward be washed in 
soap and water. 

Having advanced thus far, lay in a small stock of oil, 
turpentine, japan, etc., etc., a small keg of the best English 
white lead (^' B. B." brand) and then select a suitable board 
for a sign, and commence 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 193 

FIEST OPERATIONS. 

There are various theories respecting the quality of wood 
to be used, as also in relation to the particular "cut" of the 
log. Some contend that the center cut is less liable to 
warp and ■' shake," owing to the grain running squarely 
through. It must be acknowledged that this theory has 
l)hilosophy in it, and, from my own experience, I admit that 
it is a good board. But the outside of a log is best, for two 
reasons, viz. : 

In the first place, the outside cut has been more exposed 
and consequently more thoroughly seasoned. Second, the 
grain runs through more upon an angle, and, therefore, not 
so liable to split, shake, or warp. 

You must provide yourself with a can of shellac varnish, 
which is simply shellac dissolved in alcohol, and reduced to 
a proper consistency to spread easy. The use it is most 
often put to is covering knots and sappy places that may 
show after the first coat of grounding. 

Another and a better way to use it is, to give the whole 
board a flowing coat of it, thus making the whole surface 
equal, and kills any resinous spots, discolorations, etc. The 
best way to serve knots, however, is to bore them out en- 
tirely with a center-bit, boring a trifle outside of the knot, 
and an eighth of an inch or so in depth. This being 
stopped with stiff putty, efi"ectually disposes of all trou- 
ble arising from knots. 

It is a good idea to have a little "' stout " shellac on pur- 
pose for small knots, as before-mentioned, for in many in- 
stances it will completely obliterate them. Make your own 
shellac, if possible, as it can be more relied upon than the 
most that is in the market, being generally adulterated 
with soft gum. It not unfrequently occurs that the tur- 
pentine and oil mixes with such shellac, after dissolving it 
(provided it is not good), but if you make it of shellac alone 
you may depend upon its quality. 

When your shellac is dry mix up as much white lead as 
you require, beating it up in oil, stiff; then add your dryers, 
in about the same proportions as already given ; then add a 
little turpentine, just enough to reduce it to the proper 
thickness ; then give your sign-board a good, even, full coat. 



194 THE HOME MECHAWIC. 

When this is dry rub it down with pumice-stone, so that 
the surface will be perfectly even and free from all plane- 
marks. Avoid sand-paper, for it never cuts down a surface 
so well as pumice-stone, although it will do for ordinary 
work. Then putty up all holes, etc., with good, stiff putty 
(common putty and white lead mixed, is good). 

The second coat may be similar to the first, only let 
there be less oil in it. The third coat must contain still 
less oil J say one-third oil and two-tliirds turpentine. The 
fourth, or last coat, must contain very little oil ; dry with 
drying japan. 

I have found by years of experience and observation that 
too much oil is the cause of the blistering and scaling so 
frequently seen upon sign-boards. The fact is very patent, 
for, as in coach painting, the more oil used the more con- 
traction and expansion j and, consequently, no other method 
of mixture will stand all exposures, summer, winter, sun- 
shine, and rain, so well as the one I have given. 

As we now proceed to consider the most suitable colors 
and tints for the various grounds, etc., it will be necessary 
to enter into the philosophy of contrasts and harmonies^ 
force of color J so as to be able to select proper colors for the 
work that is to follow. 

Contrast in its first element may be called black and 
white, and this is confined to light and shadow and the dis- 
position of lines. Though both are necessary in works of 
color, I will take it for granted that you understand them 
already, and so pass at once to contrast of colors which 
give the principal charm to painting. 

As the present object is to avoid dullness we shall strive 
to obtain the opposite — brightness, and err, if at all, on the 
credit side, leaving mellowness of tone to follow as a natur- 
al result of an educated eye. 

Force or power does not consist in strong and gay col- 
ors, but is entirely the result of proper combinations and 
contrasts. Two contrasting tones must be brought together 
and then the power of each will be felt. 

Thus, if our grounds are warm and yellow tints, we 
should have blues and purples in contrast. 

If our grounds are cool, then reds and yellows are a fine 
contrast. The three principal contrasts are Uiie opposite 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 195 

to orange, red to green, yelloiv to purple, and by carrying out 
this principle of opposition of color throughout the scale, 
you will obtain an endless variety of contrasts. 

Remember this, a color and its opposite naturally increase 
as they approach, but when once thej^ mingle, they destroy 
and neutralize each other. To give a shadow to a letter, 
the student must be cautioned not to use merely a darker 
shade of color, either of the letter or of the ground, for 
tnat would only result in a tame, dull effect. Many carry 
this principle into sign painting, and thus lose the advan- 
tage of contrast that an opposite color would give. 

The shadow is to represent a certain modification of at- 
mospheric effect, and will, in almost every instance, partake 
of a natural tone or harmony of contrast. 

For instance, let a small block of wood be placed upon 
a sign ; paint the block the color you want for your letters 
place it so as to throw a shadow either to the right or the 
left, from the sun, and observe the particular tint of the 
shadow so cast. You will observe a compound effect or 
tone, proceeding both from the block and from the sign, a 
natural blending of the two. This gives you a true con- 
trast always in harmony. 

Contrasts in great variety can also be had upon the prin- 
ciple of force of color, but there must be a distance left 
between the letter and the shadow, to relieve it, otherwise 
the strong contrasts would appear harsh and hard. Always 
bear in mind that a sign is not like a picture, to be exam- 
ined at short distances, but generally from fourteen to forty 
and fi-fty feet from the eye j consequently the colors used 
must possess suflGcient force (although in harmony) to have 
effect at such a distance. 

The same idea is the point to be gained in scenic repre- 
/«entations and a study of effect and force of color, as seen 
m stage scenery, is a good one for either student or professor. 

As a general thing you will find that the reds require a 
shadow of a purplish or dull brown ; in some cases, where 
the ground admits of it, almost positive black. 

And in yellows, of the umber shade, you will require a 
gradation of golden hues for your first shade, ranging down 
to nearly black. 



196 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



RULES FOR CONTRASTS. 

Positive and sweet contrasts, such as the following, may 
be taken as a general idea ; 

Light pink upon a white ground can be best shadowed by 
a warm brown. 

Light grays and drab grays shadow with rich browns. 

For greens, reddish brown shadow. 

White to flesh-color, rich purple shadows. 

As a standard rule, warm shadows to cool, light colors ; 
and cool shadows to colors of a warm tint. 

Avoid the use of greenish blues and greenish yellows ; 
they both appear unsatisfactory and sickly. 

Blue and yellow both become agreeable as they incline 
to red. Red becomes rich as it inclines to blue, and bril- 
liant as it inclines to yellow. 

A shade of purple and orange are agreeable, but no 
greens except those that incline to yellow. 

All tertiary tints, such as citron, olive, russet, etc., are 
agreeable, and have value by contrast of their own shades. 

It may be as well, before leaving the subject of con- 
trasts, to point out how far harmony affects the sign painter, 
although its principal use has reference to the finished work. 

Harmony is the art of uniting two extremes of light and 
shadow, or of warm and cool colors, by the introduction of 
such intermediate tones as will subdue the crudeness of 
effect, caused by the use of opposites alone. By intro- 
ducing half tints which partially unite the dark masses of 
color, when placed between them, their relation to each 
other becomes toned down, and in a measure deprived of 
this rudeness. 

Thus the primary colors, red, yellow, and blue, are op- 
posed or in contrast to the secondaries, green, purple, and 
orange, when standing together, but become united and 
harmonized by the friendly introduction of a neutral, placed 
between them. 

This is the case with the compound tints, however far 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 197 

removed from the primary colors, the qualities of color 
being always brought out by harmonious opposition. 

Harmony, then, consists in using such materials between 
these colors or tones that are opposed as may diminish the 
violence of the contrast, and conceal the aim of the painter 
in bringing them together. If this is not done, the attempt 
and not the deed will confound not only the painter but the 
reader of his sign. 

Harmony, then, is simply that expedient which the force 
of contrasts compels us to adopt, and is useful to this ex- 
tent — that by it we secure that force without which our 
work would be either too tame or too harsh. It is really 
the golden link in composition. 

In describing the mixtures of colors and tints, all that is 
necessary is to exercise due caution in applying them to 
your lead or zinc that you have beat up in oil, being care- 
ful not to mix too thin, for by so doing you will find it a 
diflBcult matter to bring your color to a true assimilation. 

As some colors are light and others heavy, you will see 
the necessity of keeping your color stiff ; and always thin 
your tintmg-colors ; and always put in the color which is to 
predominate, or give the general tone, first, and until you 
see that you have enough, then add the others, if any, to 
the mixture until you have obtained the required shade. 

TABLE OF TINTS. 

Gray. — White and lamp black. 

Buff. — White, red, yellow, and a little black. 

Peael. — White, ultramarine blue, and carmine. 

Orange. — Yellow and red. 

Violet. — White, ultramarine blue, and carmine. 

Purple. — Same as above, only in different quantities. 

Gold. — White, stone ochre, and a little burnt umber. 

Olive. — White, yellow, black, and red. 

Chestnut. — Red, black and yellow. 

Flesh. — Vermilion, white, and yellow. 

Fawn. — White, red, yellow, burnt umber. 

Drab. — White, yellow, red, burnt and raw umber. 

Do. — Ochre, burnt sienna, black. 

Do. — Any variety can be obtahied by these colors. 



198 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Brown GtREEN. — Chrome green, yellow, . black, and 
red. 

Pea Green. — Chrome green with white lead. 

Rose Tint. — Carmine and white, or madder lake and 
white. 

Copper. — Eed, chrome, yellow, and black. 

Lemon. — Pale chrome and white. 

Claret. — Vermilion and blue. 

DOYE Color. — White, vermilion, blue, yellow. 

Pinks. — White, vermilion, madder lake or carmine. 

Cream. — White and pale yellow ochre. 

Salmon. — White, light red, and yellow. 

Straw. — Chrome or yellow ochre and white. 

Lilac. — Carmine, blue, and white. 

These constitute the principal tints in general use, but 
by practice in composition, a great variety more can be ob- 
tained. 

Having proceeded thus far let us now turn our attention to 

lu E T T E K, S, 

their proportion, etc., and take as an alphabet the most 
beautiful one the world ever knew — the Roman. 

The Roman Italics differ from the capitals only by being 
slightly inclined from a perpendicular, and this inclination 
should not vary much from an angle of sixty degrees, al- 
though natural taste has much to do with governing it. 

The letter A is generally formed with more faults than 
any other in the alphabet, and in nine cases out of ten it is 
occasioned by spreading its angles too much. It should 
not be wider than H or N, hair lines included. 

The upper part of B, E, F, and R should take up a par- 
ticle less space on the main line of each letter than the 
lower part, and the upper, horizontal projecting curve of 
B and R should in the same proportion be a trifle the 
smallest. 

The connecting bar of the letter H should be a trifle 
above the center of the letter. 

The perpendicular width of the curve for P should take 
up just half the length of the main limb of that letter. 

The bottom curve of J is allowed a handsome sweep, so 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 199 

that the projecting horizontal line at its top and its curve 
will occupy the same space as C or S. 

The upper curve of S should be smaller than the lower 
curve, and for this reason — the bottom of all letters should as 
near as possible form the base of their apparent structure. 

The middle top line of W is dispensed with, and that 
center limb terminates in a peak or point. 

To form a curve to the last of R is preferable to a flat, 
straight termination, provided the curve be made full, and 
the letter seems to stand firm. 

The last limb of G- should terminate at seven-sixteenths 
of its hight, or a little less than half its hight. 

Eight letters, B, D, E, G, O, P, Q, and T, will oc- 
cupy the same space from left to right as they do in 
hight. 

Six letters, C, F, J, L, S, and Z, will take one-sixteenth 
less width than hight. 

M and W, one-sixteenth more width than hight. 

I, one-half its hight wide. 

If two lines are drawn upon a sign or sheet of paper, 
say half an inch apart, and eight compartments set off, 
half an inch square, B, D, E, G, 0, P, Q, and T, each 
will fill one square and be well-proportioned letters. 

Then divide off six compartments, one-sixteenth part 
narrower than they are high, for C, F, J, L, S, and Z. 

Then make nine compartments, one-sixteenth wider than 
they are high, for A, H, K, N, E, U, V, X, and Y. 

For M and W, allow one-sixteenth more width than 
hight J for I, one-half its hight ; for &, one-eighth more 
width than hight. 

These proportions will form a very graceful letter, but 
they can be either compressed or extended from this rule so 
as to suit both taste and space. 

The small letters are more difficult to form than the 
large ones. The main body of thirteen letters, viz., a, b, 
d, g, h, r, n, p, q, u, v, x, and y, will occupy a square each. 

The letters c, e, o, r, s, t, and y, require one-sixteenth 
less width than hight ; i and 1, one half their hight in 
width. 

These relative proportions are given without the pro- 
jecting limbs above and below their main body, which pro- 



200 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

jections should be one-half the hight of the main body of 
the letter. 

The proportions for Italics are as follows : 

Seven capitals, 0, Gr, J, E, 0, Q, and S, occupy a 
square. 

Sixteen letters, A, B, D, E, F, H, X, N, P, R, T, U, V, 
Y, Z, require one-sixteenth more width than hight ; M, 
three-sixteenths wider than high ; W, two-sixteenths wider 
than high j and I, one-sixteenth less ; with a given angle of 
from sixty to sixty-three degrees. 

In the small alphabet, seven letters, viz., a, i, k, r, s, t, 
V, will occupy a square each, subject to the same rule re- 
garding their projecting parts as given for the others, the 
small Roman letters. 

Thirteen letters, b, d, f, g, h, j, n, p, q, u, x, y, z, will 
occupy one-quarter more vddth than hight ; m, two-fifths 
more width than hight. 

It may be observed here that the block-letter alphabet 
is of about the same proportion of hight and width as the 
Roman capitals do, except in extra full lettering, for which 
proportions the additional thickness of the body of the letter 
must be added to the rules given in relation to the Roman. 

All these letters are only varieties of those given above, 
and are left to the taste of the painter. Practice, with the 
rules already given, will unfold much that cannot be writ- 
ten, and much that can only be attained by experience. 

Practice what has thus far been given, and then we will 
go one degree higher, to the consideration of 

Before considering this branch of the sign-painter^s art 
it will be best to treat upon the various sizes in general use 
among them. And here I wish to guard the uninitiated 
against the use of gold size, sold at most of the color stores. 
They are generally got up from recipes published by men 
who are totally ignorant of the nature and properties of a 
permanent gilding size. My own experience amply con- 
firms this assertion. 

Let every painter make his own size, and then he will be 
less likely to be a stranger to what he w^nts. If it be too 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 201 

slow in drying, or if it dries too quickly, he will be able to 
know what is required to make it right. 

An excellent size is made by putting boiled oil in a good 
stone pot ; place it upon a slow fire, and let it rise to such 
a heat as nearly to ignite ; then with a match or a bit of 
lighted paper set fire to it, and let it burn for a few minutes, 
so as to thicken ; then take a piece of cloth and cover the 
pot, to put out the flame, and it will Irhen be like syrup or 
thin tar. 

This done, strain it through a silk stocking or handker- 
chief into a bottle and keep it closely corked. When you 
wish to use it, thin it with turpentine, but be careful and 
not use it too thin. 

ANOTHER RECIPE. 

Another good size for gilding may be made in this way : 
Procure some pure old drying oil, the older the better j 
grind into it some ochre and a little of the best quality of 
red lead ; then thin it to a proper consistency -, form your 
letters carefully, laying it very even and thin, and let your 
work stand until so dry as only to have suflScient '^ tack " 
to hold your leaf. Apply the leaf with a gilder's tip 
carefully and lay it smooth with a flat camel-hair brush 
or a ball of fine cotton wool, but do not brush off all 
the superfluous gold until you are sure that the under size 
is perfectly dry and hard. This gives the gold its full 
brilliancy and stands the weather well. 

QUICK DRYING SIZE. 

Take a little good, quick-drying copal varnish ; add to it 
a small quantity of your old boiled drying oil, just enough 
to give it " tack/' and when dry enough lay your leaf as 
before directed. 

A SIZE KNOWN TO BUT FEW. 

' Take one pound of good, pure drying oil -, put it in a 
metal pot with a cover; slowly add to this, after it has 
come almost to a boiling point, four ounces of pure gum 
animi (not copal ; gum dealers are of the opinion generally 



202 . THE HOME MECHANIC. 

that animi and copal are one and the same, but such is not 
the case). Have your animi reduced to a fine powder 5 
take it upon the point of your pallet-knife and put it in cau- 
tiously, little by little, until you have it all in, allowing 
time to dissolve, and all the while keep stirring the mixture. 
Boil to the consistency of tar, and while warm strain it 
through a piece of silk into a heated, wide-mouthed bottle ; 
keep well corked, and when required, thin with turpentine 
'and mix thoroughly. If you grind a little vermilion with 
this size it will show you what you are doing when using 
it. 

This size will gild on glass, china, metal, signs, and 
nearly everything, and if properly made has no equal ; being 
more durable, it gives more luster to the gold than any other 
size, and has the very singular property of retaining the 
^' tack " longer than any size known. 

This is the '' secret size,'^ used by the best artists in Lon- 
don and Paris, and the one used by the justly celebrated 
japanners of Birmingham, who produce the finest work in 
decoration to be found in the world^s market. 

The artist must be furnished with a gilder's cushion, with 
parchment back and ends ; a knife to cut his gold ; a " tip," 
or brush, to lift his leaf with ; a ball of cotton wool, and a 
flat camel-hair brush to clean off with. 

Take a little clean tallow on the back of the left hand, 
and then draw the ^' tip " quietly over th^ tallow and it will 
receive enough to take up the gold. Then place it lightly 
upon the work, to which it will adhere readily, and so con- 
tinue until all your sized work has been covered with it. 

The next thing to do is to pad it down lightly with your 
cotton ball, being careful to omit no portion of it, for if a 
mistake occurs on the first going over, you will find it very 
difficult to mend it afterward. So be particular in your 
work and miss no part of it. As before stated, do not 
thoroughly brush off your work until entirely dry. 

Always, when gilding, try your size upon a piece of 
painted board or glass, in order to determine accurately the 
length of time it requires to dry. If it dries too quick, add 
some oil. If you size to-day and gild to-morrow, and 
should you find the size too dry in the morning, you will 
have to add a little old, fat, raw linseed oil, as this tempers 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 203 

it SO that you can set your own time for the gilding. A few 
experiments in this connection will enable you to master and 
regulate the nature and operation of size 

FOR A SIZE EXPOSED TO THE WEATHER. 

One thing has been proved by experience, that is, that 
no gilding exposed to the extremes of summer and winter, 
wet and dry, cloud and sunshine, should ever he varnished. 

The bare gold, if good, and on good size, will stand bet- 
ter, change less, retain its luster longer, with less liability 
to ''dulce," or crack, than when varnished, although done 
with the best copal varnish ever made. 

I have seen a sign done with gold, upon a black ground, 
that had stood the weather forti/ years! The board had 
given way to the effects of the weather, and had fallen 
away in many places, leaving the letters standing out bold 
in good form and well preserved. So much for good size 
and no varnish. 

DRYING OILS, 

It may not be out of place to give, at this point, a few 
foraiulas for preparing drying oils, as many of the oils sold 
at the stores are of a spurious character, totally unfit for 
the development of good work. 

A fine, pale drying oil can be made as follows : Take eight 
pounds of linseed oil, one ounce of calcined white lead, one 
ounce of yellow acetate of lead (also calcined slightly), one 
ounce of sulphate of zinc (white vitriol)^ twelve ounces of 
vitrious oxide of lead (litharge), and one head of garlic. 
When the dry substances are pulverized mix them with the 
garlic and oil over a fire hot enough to keep the garlic and 
oil in a state of ebullition ; continue the process until the 
oil ceases to throw off scum, and until it assumes a reddish 
color and the head of garlic becomes brown. 

A pellicle will then be formed upon the surface of the 
mixture, which indicates that the operation is completed. 

Take the vessel from the fire, and the pellicle being pre- 
cipitated by rest, will carry with it all the parts which ren- 
dered the oil fat. When the oil has become clear, separate 



204 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

it from the deposit and place in wide-mouthed bottles, where 
it will completely clarify itself in a short time and im- 
prove in quality. 

The oil will be lighter in color if the dryers are put into 
a bag and suspended by a cord fastened to a stick laid across 
the mouth of the bottle j but you must use more di-yers if 
you wish to adopt this method ; in other respects operate 
as described. 

To manufacture drying oil without heat : When linseed 
oil is carefully agitated with white vinegar of lead (tribasic 
acetate of lead) and the mixture allowed to clear by set- 
tling, a copious, white, cloudy precipitate forms containing 
oxide of lead, while the oil is converted into a drying oil 
of a pale straw color, which makes an excellent strong dry- 
ing oil or varnish, which ought to dry in about twenty-four 
hours. It contains from four to five per cent, of oxide of 
lead in solution. 

THE BEST PROCESS. 

The following proportions appear to be the most advan- 
tageous for a preparation of drying oil : 

In a bottle containing four and a half pints of rain water 
put eighteen ounces of neutral acetate of lead, and when 
the solution is complete put in eighteen ounces of litharge, 
in a very fine powder. The whole is then allowed to stand 
in a moderately warm place, frequently agitating it to assist 
the solution. This preparation may be considered complete 
when no more small scales of the litharge are apparent. 

The deposit of a shining white color (sex basic acetate of 
lead) may be separated by filtration. This conversion of a 
neutral acetate of lead into vinegar of lead, by means of 
litharge and water is efifected in about a quarter of an hour, 
if the mixture be heated to ebullition. When heat is not 
applied the process will take from three to four days. The 
solution of vinegar of lead thusformed is sufficient for the pre- 
paration of twenty -two pounds or three gallons of drying oil. 

For this purpose the solution is diluted with an equal 
amount of rain water, and to it is gradually added, with 
casual agitation, twenty-two pounds of oil, with which 
eighteen ounces of litharge have been previously mixed. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 205 

When the points of contact between the lead solution and 
the oil have been frequently renewed by agitation of the 
mixture (three or four times per day), and the mixture is 
allowed to settle in a warm place, a limpid, straw-colored 
oil rises to the surface, leaving a copious white deposit. 

The wateiy solution, rendered clear by filtration, con- 
tains intact all the acetate of lead originally employed, and 
which may be used in the next operation, after the addition 
to it as before, of eighteen ounces of litharge. By filtra- 
tion through paper or cotton,, the oil may be obtained as 
limpid as water, and it can also be bleached by exposure in 
the sun. 

If this oil requires to be absolutely free from lead, it may 
be so rendered by the addition of dilute sulphuric acid to 
the above, when, on being allowed to stand, a deposit of 
sulphate of lead will take place, and the clear oil" may be 
obtained, free from all traces of lead. 

ZINC DRYER. 

This dryer is prepared from the oxide of manganese and 
raw linseed oil. 

The manganese is broken into pieces as small as peas, 
dried, and the powder separated by a sieve. The fragments 
are then placed in a bag made of iron wire gauze — this to 
hang in the oil contained in the iron or copper vessel — 
and the whole heated gentl}'^ for twenty-four or thirty-six 
hours. 

The oil, however, must not be allowed to boil, for there 
is great danger of its running over. When the oil has 
acquired a reddish color it is to be poured into an appropri- 
ate vessel to clear. 

For one hundred parts of oil, ten parts of manganese 
may be employed, and which will serve for several oper- 
ations when freshly broken and the dust separated. 

Experience has shown that when fresh oxide of mangan- 
ese is employed, it is better to introduce it into the oil od 
the second day. The process occupies a longer time with the 
fresh oxide. Very great care is required to prevent acci- 
dent, and one of the principal points to be observed is that 
the oil be not overheated. If the boiling should render the 



206 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

oil too thick, this may be remedied by an addition of tur- 
pentine, after ithas thoroughly cooled. 

COLD-MADE DRYING OIL FOR ORDINARY 
PURPOSES. 

Four ounces of litharge to the gallon. Stir it often, and 
allow it to settle. Pour oflp carefully, and you have a good, 
clear, drying oil. 

Any of the drying oils described will work and stand 
well, if you use sufficient turpentine in the mixing, and you 
will thereby be able to dispense with raw oil and japan 
dryers. If you wish to hurry up your work a little drying 
japan can be used. 

This beautiful art is worked in many different ways, every 
artist having his own peculiar method. 

One very good way is to first outline with a piece of hard 
soap, your letters, scrolls, etc., (on the outside) then com- 
mence to outline on the glass (inside) with some suit- 
able color, a light shade line for the top and left side of the 
letter j then upon the bottom and right side of them use a 
black, or, in fact, almost any color you may select. When 
:^ry proceed to lay on your gold. 

Some use gin, some whisky, others simply water ; gum 
arable in solution, white of egg, may be used. One can 
merely breathe upon the glass and it will sometimes answer 
the purpose of a ^^ tack '^ for the gold. 

I have found an excellent size, made from a solution of 
gum tragacanth in water. The first part that dissolves is 
the part that suits bes+ ; that portion being pure, while the 
residue is cloudy and anfit for use. 

When wanted to use, reduce a portion of the gum with 
water to a very weak standard, as in all cases you will find 
your gilding bright in exact ratio to the thinness and trans- 
parency of your size. I consider this the most desirable 
size, especially for large work. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 207 



First Method. — Draw your lines upon the glass at the 
proper distances for the size of your letters, etc., with a 
piece of hard soap, which will make very distinct lines. 
Then form your letters accurately, and in true distances or 
space, one from the other, being satisfied that all your pro- 
portions, etc., are correct. You will now be ready to com- 
mence your gilding. 

Second Method. — Have your letters, etc., drawn out on fine 
paper ; prick with a pin the outlines of your letters, scrolls, 
etc. Next take a bag made of muslin, filled with fine pow- 
dered charcoal j lay the paper carefully to its proper place ; 
then pounce the charcoal bag against the paper, and you 
can then trace the outlines in full with black japan. To 
make all secure it will be necessary to give the work 
two or three coats, and when dry, wash or rub off all super- 
fluities with a sponge or soft cotton rag. 

N. B. — This method is only used after gilding, where the 
leaf is placed full without any outline. 

Third Method. — To get accurate lines upon glass, pre- 
paratory to gilding. In the first place, clean the glass 
thoroughly ; then with a mixture of whiting, water, and a 
Jittle milk, brush carefully all over the outside of the glass. 
When dry, draw your parallel lines, letters, scrolls, etc., with 
a pointed stick. 

For small work, turn the glass around, and letter back- 
ward. If inside of a window, work upon the same prin- 
ciple. This is an easy and a true method of forming your 
lettering or ornamentation, as any fault in the drawing can 
be easily corrected. 

MODUS OPERANDI FOR GILDING ON GLASS. 

Whichever size you agree upon, lay it on with a full pen- 
cil, and proceed with your gold at once, so as to secure a 
solid '^ cover" without being obliged to ^Houch up,^' and if 
you wish to use two coats of gold, blow your breath upon 
the first coat to hold the second. 

Lay as much gold as possible before your size dries, and 
so proceed until your lines are finished. Then rub it down 



208 THE HOME MECHANIC, 

gently to remove the superfluous gold. Then proceed to 
outline as in second method above ; or draw your parallel 
lines through the gilding (if in capitals of one given length) 
and cut in your letters with black japan very carefully, 
forming them all backward. This is the principle of the 
first method, but it requires considerable practice to do it 
correctly. 

If any ornament is wanted in the body of the letters, lay 
them in with oil size. When dry, gild and shade if re- 
quired. When all is dry, lay in the entire letter with the 
size (spirit or water size) and gild and back, as above, viz. : 
with two or three coats of black japan. 

The shading is done afterward, and in any colors the 
artist may decide upon. It generally takes two coats to 
cover solid upon glass. 

Gilding upon glass requires great practice and very nice 
handling, but with proper care, this process looks very beau- 
tiful dnd stands well. 

Siivor leaf is laid on in the same manner, only it requires 
a little stronger size than the gold calls for. The silver 
being h^i3avier relatively, use the size of gum tragacanth. 

One point seems rather difficult — that of having to form 
the letters backward, but practice is the only thing that 
will make perfect in this respect, and enough of it will make, 
what at first seems a difficulty, as easy as the formation of 
letters in the ordinary way. 

Have a board made of any convenient size, and have a 
projecting baud or molding around it. Then cut into the 
band grooves the thickness of a handsaw, an inch apart, 
allowing each cut to reach to the bottom of the band. In 
each of these slots insert strips of tin, just wide enough to 
fill the entire slot, and long enough to reach entirely across 
the sign board. 

When all fitted, take them out and place them edge to 
edge upon a flat surface, and paint any word you like upon 
their combined surface. When dry, reverse and paint other 
words upon the other side. 

Next paint any words yon please upon the surface of the 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 209 

sign board, and, when dry, again insert the strips of tin into 
the slots in the board, taking them up in the same order 
in which they lay when painted upon. 

This is really a magical sign (three signs, in fact), and 
changes as the observer changes his position, at one angle 
showing one thing, and at another quite a different one. 
They are coming much in use now-a-days, and it is a good 
branch of the art to make one's self perfect in. 

Draw your letters on paper to suit your sheet of tin, 
having first cleaned it with diluted alcohol and a piece of 
cotton. This will remove any grease or other matter that 
might hold the gold. Then take some whiting and rub it 
over the back of the paper upon which your design is made 
and lay it upon the japanned tin. 

Place a weight upon the four corners of the paper, or 
otherwise fix it securely to the tin ; then, with a fine point- 
ed piece of hard wood, trace the design carefully, bearing 
upon the paper with the point just hard enough to cause 
the whiting on the under side of the paper to adhere to the 
tin, and after going carefully over the whole, you will have 
transferred the entire design in fine white outline to the tin 
you are to finish it upon. 

Then size with either quick or slow drying oil size, and, 
when sufficiently dry for gilding, lay on the gold leaf, and 
''bat" it down thoroughly, afterward brushing off with 
your flat camel-hair brush or cotton. 

There is a difference between shading and shadows. 
Shading a letter is simply making an artificial representa- 
tion of a raised letter, and consequently requires a light 
fine shade upon the top and left side of the letter, and a 
dark one upon the bottom and right side. 

These shades will have the effect of raising the letter, 
but the deception is incomplete without the shadow. This 
is to be attained by representing a shadow cast by the 
painted object, and should always be of one uniform color : 
dark, but very thin. A mere glaze, as it were, composed 



210 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



of ivory black, Vandyke brown, raw and burnt umber, as- 
phaltum, etc. 

Always keep in view the tone of the ground^ for that has 
all to do with choosing the most natural shadow, as stated 
before. The above enumerated colors, by judicious and 
well balanced composition, will yield an excellent shadow 
to suit any ground. 

In shading letters, considerable judgment is necessary, 
as some of the alphabet requires less shade than others, for 
this reason : a portion of them would be filled up too much 
if the shade was of uniform weight. B, S, K, G, and N, 
the body angles of which do not admit of so heavy a shade 
as perpendicular or bottom letters. 

It is very general with sign painters to make the bottom 
shades a trifle heavier than the perpendiculars, and for this 
reason : the sun casts a heavier shade to the bottom in 
proportion to the angle of light, and for this reason a heav- 
ier shade is demanded. 

In regard to the formation of letters, one rule will hold 
good in all respects, at least so far as Eoman letters are 
concerned ; in case you do not wish to paint them square — 
as wide as they are high — diminish the width in exact ratio 
to the increase of the bight, and vice versa. 

PAINTING ON CLOTH OR SILK. 

For Masonic or Oddfellow's aprons, banners, or any 
work of like nature, a few words may be useful. 

First have your material put upon a stretcher, and then 
complete your lettering and design. Prepare a size as fol- 
lows : Dissolve bleached shellac in alcohol, and tEin as 
much as will cover the parts to be painted or gilded, using 
the precaution to cut over the outline a little, so as to pre- 
vent the color from spreading. 

Another size may be prepared by simply using the white 
of an egg. This size will do where the work is not ex- 
posed to the weather, or when it is required to be done 
quickly 5 and for such work, where gilding is to be done, 
lay the gold while the size is wet, and when dry, dust off 
the surplus gold and proceed withthe painting, shading, 
etc., when you are sure that the size is dry, remember. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 211 

SIZE FOR BRONZING. 

A good size for bronzing, or pale gilding, is a mixture of 
asphaltum, drying oil, and spirits of turpentine. 

A size for gilding on cloth, silk, plaster, etc., is made as 
follows : Take a little honey, combined with thick glue. 
When reduced properly, this size has the effect of bright- 
ening the color of the gold leaf, sticking to it well and giv- 
ing it a very fine luster. 

VARNISHES FOR SIGN WORK 

The artist has already been cautioned against the use of 
varnish for gilt signs 5 but there can be no doubt that the 
varnish not only improves, but is actually necessary upon 
a sign where the decorative or ornamental style is intro- 
duced. Varnish has the effect of bringing out the force of 
colors ; brings them to their true tone, and gives the artist 
an opportunity to be judged on his merits, relative to har- 
mony, contrast, and force. 

For this reason, considerable care must be taken in se- 
lecting a suitable, durable varnish for this purpose. 

An excellent varnish for sign painters may be made as 
follows : To eight pounds of best African copal, add two 
gallons of pure, clarified, drying linseed oil, half a pound 
of sugar of lead (acetate), three and a half gallons of tur- 
pentine. 

Boil the copal in the oil very slowly, for from four to five 
hours, until quite stringy ; then allow it to cool to about 
130 degrees F. ; afterward add three and a half gallons 
of turpentine at the same temperature. Mix well, and 
strain into cistern or tank. This makes a slow-drying 
elastic varnish, not liable to crack by any out-door expos- 
ure. 

QUICK DRYING VARNISH. 

" Japanner^s gold size," or quick drying varnish, may be 
made in this manner : 

Eight pounds gum animi, half a pound dried sugar of 
lead, two gallons of clarified drying oil, three and a half 
gallons of turpentine. 



212 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Boil for four hours, strain, etc., as above. 

Use one pot of this varnish to two of the former kind, 
the slow drying. This mixture will dry in about four 
hours in summer and six in winter. 

This quick drying varnish makes a good dryer for deli- 
cate colors ; about a dessert-spoonful to twenty-five pounds 
of color being a fair proportion. 

Should the artist not wish to manufacture his own var- 
nish, let him avoid buying any cheap article, but inquire 
for '• slow drying, body copal varnish," and also for the 
best drying japan, so that if required to varnish a piece of 
work that is wanted to dry quick, he can do so by adding a 
little of the japan. 

MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. 

To Clean Old Sign Boaeds. — Brush over the face 
of the board with warm alcohol, and repeat two or three 
times if necessary, after which the '' smalt will come off 
easily, by the use of a dull chisel or an old plane-iron. Care 
should be taken not to cut into the surface, as such places 
are hard to patch, up again. 

Anothee Method. — Take three and a half pounds of 
stone lime, two pounds pearl-ash, two ounces soft soap, 
three ounces of ammonia. Slack the lime, then add the 
soft soap. It may require a little water to form a paste ; 
then add the pearl-ash and the liquor of ammonia. Keep 
in a close-stopped, wide-mouthed bottle, or stone jar, with 
a little water, like paint. This mixture, when laid on a 
sign or any old piece of painting, will soften it so that it 
will wash off with the utmost ease. 

Still Anothee Method. — Lay your work top up, and 
go over it with turpentine ; set fire to it, and the old paint 
will soften up, and with an old chisel or a piece of flat, 
sharpened wood you can scrape off the old color with per- 
fect ease. The best way of doing this is to cover a foot 
or so at a time with the turpentine, and proceed as above. 
Then rub off with pumice and water. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 213 

TO LAY SMALT GROUNDS. 

Mix your color as near as possible to the desired shade 
to suit the smalt J mix with strong drying oil, not too thin; 
th( n cut round your letters, scrolls, etc. ; with a fitch and 
sash tool fill in all the spaces ; then with smalt dust all the 
surface, taking care to put more than enough on, so as to 
allow the ^' oil ground '' to absorb all it possibly can. 
When dry (usually the next day) turn your signs on end. 
or on the side, and all the surplus smalt can be brushed off 
and saved. A small wire sieve is good for straining smalts. 

Some printers shade their letters first, that is, before 
smalting, which is the neatest way for fine or small work ; 
but for large signs it will have a better efi'ect to shade the 
letters after smalting. Mix the shading color with very 
little oil, mostly japan and turpentine, and draw with short 
quill tools or French fitches. 

FLOCKS. 

Flocks are laid upon the same principle. These 
grounds are very beautiful and chaste looking, but they are 
very unsuitable for signs that are exposed to the weather, 
as the colors do not stand any length of time, black being 
the only one that can be depended on. 

Instead of smalts, colored sands are sometimes used. 
These retain their colors well, and if taste is displayed in 
arranging the hue and tints, very beautiful work can be 
produced. 

FACING PUTTY FOR SIGNS. 

Facing putty for signs that are to be gilded may be 
made in this way : Take a little fine whiting, a very little 
drying oil, japan dryers, and beat all up to a reasonable 
stiffness. With this mend all the inequalities with a square - 
ended knife. This putty will harden very rapidly and dries 
without any shrinkage, tack, or softness. In mixing, use 
more japan than oil, say two-thirds japan. 



214 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

GLASS SIGNS, WITH PEARL SETTINGS. 

The best method of doing such signs is, first to draw 
your parallel lines with a sharp pointed piece of hard soap. 
Then form your letters correctly, giving them the proper 
distances, etc. 

Have your outlining very true, as by so doing you will 
avoid much trouble when finishing. If you desire to en- 
close the pearl within gold lines, clean your glass upon the 
opposite side, then with your camel-hair brush lay on your 
size as directed for gilding on glass. 

When you have done this, lift your gold leaf and lay it 
on carefully. When all the gilding is done and dry, take 
a pencil of the proper size and cut in all the letters as 
neat as possible, giving them sufficient strength and weight 
in proportion to the size of the letter, leaving the center or 
blank space entirely clear. 

By " cutting in '^ I mean that all you wish to show in 
gold must be laid in with black japan, two coats. When 
the japan is dry, then wash off carefully all the surplus 
gold. The work is now ready for the pearls. 

The pearl for this work is all prepared, ready for use, in 
thin pieces or sheets. There are two kinds, the snail, and 
the aurora, also the small broken pieces, called scrap, 
which is very useful in filling up small portions of the 
work, and forming different kinds of ornaments. 

If careful in selecting the snail pearl, great beauty and 
order may be obtained, for shells of an equal size and form 
when cut into sheets will reflect either concave or convex, 
according to the side presented to the eye. 

If a round piece is wanted in the center of each body 
and round turn of the letter, cut the sheet with a sharp 
pair of scissors into the desired shape. It is the best way 
to make a pattern of tin to cut them by, thus insuring a 
perfect uniformity. 

Then clean off the edges with a fine file, and arrange 
them upon your table so as to have them i-eflect all one 
way, convex side up. Have your size in a little cup, a 
short, stiff, sable pencil, etc., ready to work. 

Lay a coat of size over the face of the pearl and then 
put it in its proper place in the letter. Press it hapd upon 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 215 

the glass so as to displace all the size possible, as much of 
the beauty of the work depends upon having as little as 
may be of the size show between the pearl and the glass. 
As with glue and wood, the less glue there is in a joint the 
I better it holds, and the closer the pieces of wood approach 
each other. 

Whep you have set all of the pearls turn the glass face 
upward, and see if all are placed so as to show alike, for 
if there are any corrections to be made now is the time to 
make them. 

There are a great variety of forms manufactured and for 
sale, such as representations of humming-birds, paroquets, fish 
flowers, scrolls, etc., which are susceptible of being made 
into very pretty work when judiciously handled. In short 
a thousand varieties of work can be produced and many 
different materials used in this same way. 

After the larger pearls are set you can form the other 
portions of your letters with such sizes as you may choose, 
and fill up the smaller portions with the " scrap," taking 
care, however, not to have the pieces set too near together, 
or the effect will be bad, as much relief is obtained through 
the medium of the ground. 

When your size is dry and the pearl firm, then have your 
ground mixed up stiff with drying japan, oil, and turpen- 
tine, but only a small proportion of oil. After mixing it 
to the proper shade lay on a heavy coat of ground color. 

When any particular style of ornamentation is desired 
you can vary the colors of your ground, shading the dif- 
ferent sides of the letters, scrolls, etc., to suit your own 
taste and fancy, doing the shading in a similar way as you 
would any glass signs. 

Green, red, yellow, white, etc., are used with good effect, 
shaded in order, viz. : greens with darker greens ; reds 
with brown, purple, etc. ; yellow with burnt umber, blend- 
ing carefully. In short, a great variety of colors may 
be used in such work, and, as before said, an endless variety 
of styles produced. 



216 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

SIZE TO FIX THE PEARL. 

1st. Pure mastic varnish. 

2d. Pale, quick drying copal varnish. 

3d. Copal varnish and Canada balsam : one-third copal ; 
two-thirds Canada balsam. 

In shading letters, they look best when the ^hade is 
drawn on an angle of about forty degrees, although much 
depends upon the taste of the artist. 

With the simple rules here given for pearl and fancy 
signs, every variety known in the market may be produced. 

CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

Having gone over about all that is necessary to consti- 
tute a ready " Hand Book " to the sign painter, a few con- 
cluding remarks may not be inappropriate. I do not pre- 
sume to teach the practical sign painter or gilder, still I 
flatter myself that even he may find in this Manual many 
things that are new or but imperfectly understood. 

These recipes and methods — in fact, the contents of 
the entire book — is but the summary of a long experience 
on my part, both in this country and in England. I have 
given nothing and advanced nothing but what I have used 
and profited by myself. 

Still experience is not the only help a man may employ. 
The experience of others oftentimes saves us from much 
labor in personal research and experiment, and what I have 
read, what I have learned myself during forty years of 
practical sign and decorative painting, is here given freely 
for the good of the profession. 

Letters are generally charged for by the foot. 

Plain letters 30c. per foot. 

For one shade, add - - 10c. ^' 

Double shade, add - - - 20c. " 

Gold letters Sl.OO " 

Ornamented letters, scrolls, etc., charge for time and ma 
terial in the same proportion. 



7c. 


per inch. 


2c. 


u 


7c. 


a 


3c. 


u 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 217 

Japanned tin signs . - - 

Shading '' _ _ . 

Lettering on glass - - - - 
Letters made on glass, tin, or stone 
Plain ornaments, same as letters. 
Gold borders ----- 3c. " 
In gold or plain surfaces, the labor equal to cost of the 
gold. 

Ornaments in proportion to the labor. 

These rules will serve as an average in proportioning the 
prices to the amount of labor. 

It would be superfluous to enumerate a further list of 
prices, for the purpose of meeting every variety of letter- 
ing and ornamenting, but these prices given may bo taken 
as a standard, subject always to the fluctuations of the 
prices of labor and material. 



FRESCO PAINTING, 

AND ITS AUXILIARIES COMBINED. 



Of all those attainments which contribute as well to the 
gratification of the senses as to the refinement of the taste 
and the enlargement of the intellectual powers, the art of 
Painting is perhaps the best adapted to the human mind. 

The satisfaction derivable from the contemplation of a 
beautiful work of art possesses a peculiar advantage ; it is 
reuviwable at pleasure without any continuance of the ex 
ertioD by which it was produced. But a rare combination 
of talent with industry, or, at least, great industry, can 
alone lead to productions which may cl aim admiration be- 
yond the circle of our own partial relatives and friends. 
Experience has proved the impracticability of conveying a 
knowledge of the elementary principles of this art, in any 
manner so as to supersede the useful labors of the drawing 



218 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

master or teacher, yet there is much to be leanied before 
the pupil cau go alone, with confidence, after the period 
when his attention ceases, and which the limited duration 
of his lessons cannot include ; to this we must attribute 
the fact that so many who make a fair progress under the 
master's eye, either never attempt any performance with 
the pencil after he has ceased to superintend and direct 
their studies, or finding themselves embarrassed at the out- 
set, abandon the pursuit and fancy " their genius does not 
lie that way." AYe will presume, however, that the reader 
has gone through the usual elementary course of instruc- 
tion, that he is able to copy with accuracy the outline at 
least of any object which may be set before him ; this and 
much more may be obtained by any person of moderate 
abilities by industry, without an iota of that much mis- 
understood quality genius, which has proved an ignis fa- 
tuus to thousands. One of the greatest artists of the day 
was right when he said : " Nothing is denied to well directed 
industry ; nothing is to be obtained without it." Depend, 
then, wholly upon your own exertions, and listen rather 
to the criticisms of the judicious than the praises of those 
who will flatter jou with assurances that you possess in- 
tuitive excellences which may render application unneces- 
sary. To recommend a proper course of study will be the 
most useful purpose to which these pages can be devoted, 
for it cannot be dispensed with. 

Before any attempt be made beyond copying, the student 
is enjoined to acquire a clear view of the leading principles 
of perspective on pain of committing absurdities, for which 
no beauty of color can atone ; it will be found less difficult 
than is generally imagined. Although it would be impos- 
sible to compress into our limits all the explanations and 
diagrams necessary to an illustration of its theory, we shall 
subsequently offer a few observations which, we trust, will 
prove beneficial to the student. 

There are two points to which we would particularly 
wish to call attention, because they are errors that greatly 
retard the progress ; one is a want of command of hand, 
the other, an impatience to produce a finished effect with- 
out the systematic and gradual process necessary to the 
production of a piece of good work. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 219 

To remedy the first will require great attention and prac- 
tice, if the uncertainty of hand or timidity of touch exist in 
a great degree. It is never found among the artists of 
necessity, with whom quality of production is an object of 
importance, as decorative painters, designers for furniture 
and manufacturers 5 with these freedom and precision of hand 
are seldom wanting. 

We advise the pupil to study well every line before it is 
begun, to determine its exact course and bearing 5 in short, 
to look from the object to be represented to the surface on 
which it is to be drawn again and again, until the mind's 
eye transfer it and the imagination sees it in the place it 
is to occupy — that is the moment to be seized, and then 
the quicker the line is drawn the better. Large objects 
should be copied on common sheets of paper ; it is a great 
check to the freedom of the hand to have your sheets too 
small, as it has the tendency to produce fear about spoiling 
your design or drawing. Still avoid the opposite extreme, 
and remember always that true proportion and correctness is 
the first principle of the art. 

An occasional hour or two would not be misspent if oc- 
cupied in drawing straight lines perpendicularly, diago- 
nals, parallel to each other, and circles without the com- 
passes. 

This observation is applicable to many who would be 
ashamed of being seen so employed -, who have, in fact, 
attempted to execute a piece of work without sufficient 
practice in the rudiments of the art. 

The second error is even still more common, that is for 
a painter to proceed to color, or rather to waste his time 
in shadowing or coloring upon an outline which might 
mean anything. There is no time in the progress of a 
piece of work, when the forms of objects can be so conve- 
niently improved, as when they are in a faint outline; a 
thorough conviction of this, and experience of the pleasure 
of modeling as it were into substance by shadows, and 
adding the charms of color to well-studied forms will render 
patient labor less irksome by anticipation of certain ulti- 
mate success. 

In your early practice of drawing from solid objects, it 
would be well to make several studies from a white globe, 



220 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

placing it in diflferent lights, and having only one window 
in the room. 

You will find that there is but a single spot upon it which 
can be represented by perfect whiteness ; and that all the 
otlier rays falling obliquely upon a receding surface, a 
weakened light is received, diminishing, at last, into abso- 
lute shadow, until again relieved by reflection from sur- 
rounding objects on the opposite side. A cylinder may be 
made by a roll of paper, an egg will serve as an oval, and 
a cone may be obtained by rolling up a sheet of paper in 
the shape of an extinguisher. Thus the models are easily 
obtained, and the pupil has but to study them well, and he 
will imbibe all the principles of light, shadow and i-eflection. 

He may then proceed to the plaster bust, which must be 
clean and free from dust, as discolorations greatly em- 
barrass an inexperienced practitioner. 

The outline should be sketched faintly at first with soft 
charcoal (that made of the willow is the best), the super- 
fluity of which may readily be removed from the paper by 
a soft feather duster or a light whisk of the handkerchief, 
or even a feather, leaving a faint but sufliciently distinct re- 
presentation. This should be repeated until the pupil is 
satisfied with the form and proportions, when colored chalk 
may be used. 

A gray paper we prefer, as it forms the most natural 
medium between the black and white chalk, and must 
always appear between them. Soft French chalk is the 
best for general purposes, and the Italian chalk, which is 
harder, for finishing, or where great neatness is required. 

Center pieces for ceilings, scrolls, spandrels, parterres, 
etc., moldings, copies of the various orders of architecture, 
viz. : Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite, 
j Here the pupil will find a lar^e field for study, and w 
would strongly recommend that those various orders shoiil 
be copied from some genuine prints, in parts and in whoh 
so as to familiarize the eye and cultivate the mind to vX 
the varieties therein contained. 

Those lessons in colored chalks are the mOv«t ready r e- 
thods for gaining knowledge in shading, etc., so as to rais 
any object upon a plain surface, to represent that relief cr 
effGot which is wished to bo obtained previous to attempt- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 221 

iDg anything with water colors. For if not very conversant 
with the true forms of the subject to be painted, the pupil 
will find himself launched into a sea of trouble from which 
it will be difficult for him to extricate himself. 

Therefore, I repeat, that owing to the difficulty of work- 
ing colors in distemper upon a ground of the same kind, 
where any fault, either in tint or position, is by no means 
easily rectified, the more does the pupil require extensive 
and laborious practice in coloring with chalks or crayons. 
Then he will become decided and sure of touch, and make 
every line tell with masterly effect. 

Speaking of the various orders, their prominent distinc- 
tions are as follows : Tuscan, of which the usual hight of 
the column is seven diameters ; Doric, eighty Ionic, nine 5 
Corinthian, ten ; and Composite, ten. 

The Tuscan is quite plain, without any ornament what- 
ever. 

The Doric is distinguished by the channels and project- 
ing intervals in the fi'ieze, called Triglyphs. 

The Ionic by the ornaments of its capital, which are 
spiral and are called volutes. 

The Corinthian by the superior hight of its capital, and 
its being ornamented with leaves, which support very small 
volutes. 

The Composite has also a tall capital with leaves, but is 
distinguished from the Corinthian by having the large 
volutes of the Ionic capital. 

A complete order is divisable into three grand divisions, 
which are occasionally executed separately, viz. : The 
column, including its base and capital; the pedestal, which 
supports the column ; the entablature, or part above and 
supported by this column. 

These are again each subdivided into three parts : The 
pedestal into base or lower moldings ; dado or die, the plain 
central space ; and surbase or upper molding. 

The column into base or lower moldings. Shaft or cen- 
tral plain space, and capital or upper moldings. 

The entablature into architrave, or part immediately 
above the column ; frieze or central flat space ; and cornice 
or upper projecting moldings. 

These parts may again be divided thus : The lower por- 



222 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

tions, viz. : the base of pedestal, base of column and archi- 
trave, divided each into two parts : ihe first and second 
into plinth and moldings, the third into face or faces, and 
upper molding or tenia. 

Each central portion, as dado of pedestal, shaft of column 
and frieze, is undivided. 

Each upper portion, as surbase of pedestal, capital of 
column, cornice of entablature, divides into three parts ; 
the first into bed molds, or the part under the corona ; co- 
rona, or plain face ; and cymatium or upper molding. 

The capital into neck or part below the ovoloj ovolo 
or projecting round molding 5 and abacus or tile. The 
flat upper molding mostly nearly square. 

These divisions of the capital, however, are less distinct 
than those of the other parts. 

The cornice into bed mold, or part below the corona j 
corona, or flat projecting face 5 cymatium, or molding above 
the corona. 

Besides these general divisions, it will be proper to no- 
tice a few terms often made use of. 

The ornamental molding running round an arch or round 
doors and windows, is called an architrave. 

An ornamental molding for an arcb to spring from, is 
called an impost. 

The stone at the top of an arch, whicb often projects, is 
called a key -stone. 

The small brackets under the corona Ip the cornices are 
called mutules or modillions ; if they are square or longer 
in front than in depth they are called mutules, and are 
used in the Doric order. If they are less in front ihan their 
depth, they are called modillions, and in the Corinthian or- 
der have carved leaves spread under them. 

A truss is a modillion enlarged and placed flat against a 
wall, often used to support the cornice of doors and win 
dows. 

A console is an ornament like a truss, carved on a key- 
stone. 

Trusses when used under modillions in the frieze are 
called cantalivers. 

The space under the corona of the cornice is called a 
soffit ; as is also the underside of an arch. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 223 

Dentils are ornaments used in the bed molds of cornices ; 
they are parts of a small flat face which is cut perpendicu- 
larly, and small intervals left between each. 

A flat column is called a pilaster, and those which are 
used with columns and have a different capital are called antcea. 
A small bight of paneling above the cornice is called 
an attic, and in these panels and sometimes in other parts 
are introduced small pillars, swelling toward the bottom which 
are called balusters, and a series of them a balustrade. 

If the joints are channeled the work is called rustic, 
which is often used as a basement for an order. 

Columns are sometimes ornamented by channels, which 
are called flutes. These channels are sometimes partly 
filled by a lesser round molding ; this is called cabling the 
flutes. 

For the better understanding the various orders it will 
be proper first to notice the different moldings which by 
different combinations form their parts. 
First. — The ovolo or quarter round. 
Second. — The cavetto or hollow. 
Third. — The torus or round. 

From the composition of these are formed divers others, 
and from the arrangement of these, with plain flat spaces 
between, are formed cornices and other ornaments. A 
large space is called a corona if in the cornice ; a fascia in 
the architrave ; and the frieze itself is only a flat space. 
A small flat face is called a fillet or listel, and is interposed 
between moldings to divide them. 

A fillet is in the bases of columns and some other parts 
joined to a face or to the column itself by a small hollow, 
then called apophyges. 

The torus, when very small, becomes an astragal, which 
projects, or a bead, which does not project. 

Compound moldings are the cyma recta, which has the 
hollow uppermost and projecting. 

The cyma reversa, or ogee, which has the round upper- 
most and projecting. 

The Scotia, which is formed of two hollows, one over 
the other, and of different centers. 

Several beads placed together, or sunk in a flat face are 
called reedings. 



224 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

All these moldings, except the fillet, may be occasionally 
carved, and they are then called enriched moldings. 

From these few simple forms, by adding astragals and 
fillets and combining differently ornamented moldings, faces 
and soffits, are all the cornices, panels, etc., formed, and 
the modern compositions in joiners' work, etc., fresco paint- 
ers, builders, etc., are very numerous, and too well known 
to need describing. 

For human figures or animals, fruit, flowers, etc., the 
student must supply himself with good specimens, either 
lithographs or good prints of any kind, and practice from 
them until he has acquired sufficient knowledge of propor- 
tions, form, size, etc., to suit the various positions to which 
they may be applied ; true proportions are of vital importance 
to the fresco painter, as his drawing will be about the first 
point of criticism to which he will find himself liable, even 
more so than to his shading or coloring. For it matters 
little how well coloring or shading may be executed if the 
drawing is deficient. Therefore let the pupil persevere in 
this branch of the art. 

In drawing flowers the center should be drawn first, as 
by spreading outward, the graceful and ever varying 
forms of nature in every stem and leaf may be more easily 
expressed. 

In the subsequent operation of coloring them they require 
much more attention than any other part of the work, so 
as to produce a soft and accurate effect^ but not an equal 
degree of skill and experience to produce a beautiful whole. 

In this kind of drawing, as in every other, the first lesson 
should be obtained by following the draughts of the most 
skillful masters, comparing their productions at the same 
time with nature. As flower pieces are inspected with 
almost microscopic attention the fibers and figure of every 
leaf must be distinctly expressed. Flowers which do not 
blow at the same season of the year should never be grouped 
together. 

In drawing fruit great care is to be taking in assorting 
or arranging them so as to produce the most imposing 
efi'ect. So place them as regards color, size, etc., with an 
easy carelessness that they may by such freedom of position 
aid the pupil in producing a good harmonious painting. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 226 

FIGURE PAINTING, 

As before stated, requires correct proportions, good 
coloring, great ease, and a general softness throughout, 
to be graceful and mellow in tint, avoiding cold or harsh 
shading, etc., having always in view the fact that this par- 
ticular branch of the art demands consummate skill and^ 
great truthfulness. 

OF LIGHT AND SHADE. 

When a ceiling or side paneling is drawn out carefully, 
and the pupil is satisfied that all is in due proportion and 
correct to the order desired, the next point of consideration 
will be to judge from what particular side of the room the 
light falls from and upon the objects drawn, so that all the 
shadows may fall one way, and of course from the light. 

That part of design, panels, scrolls, etc., whose sides 
are nearest the quarter from which the light comes, must 
be the brightest, and the remainder must be gradually 
darkened. 

Surfaces which are wished to project being nearer the 
light than others, must be sharp and well illumined where 
the enlightened side can be seen. The faintest lines should 
be put in first, proceeding gradually to the darkest. All 
shades should be rather too light at first, that they may be 
worked up gradually to the full efi*ect. 

All strong lights must be relieved by deep shades, but it 
must be remembered that strong reflections diminish and 
always soften the shades cast by the original light, so as 
in some instances to make the side of a body which retires 
from the light brighter than a nearer part. 

It is by the reflection of light received from the sky or 
terrestrial surfaces that the darkest part of cylindrical and 
globular bodies, is not that which is the most distant from 
the original light j and from the peculiar nature of the re- 
flection from such surfaces, when the light falls on one 
side of them, the lightest part is not always that which is 
nearest the light. 

In shading an upright round pillar for example, a small 
portion of the Side nearest the light, supposing the light 



226 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

to come from one side, should be a little shaded ; the next 
portion should exhibit the strongest light, which in water 
color will be almost the ground color unless the ground 
be dark, then it will have to be run in almost pure white. 

Then will come the deepest shade, and lastly a shade 
for the further side somewhat deeper than the one on \he 
side nearest the light. These shades duly softened into 
each other will give the idea of a round body. 

Titian declared that the best lessons he ever received on 
the distribution of light and shade were derived from 
studying and drawing bunches of grapes. 

Having as briefly as possible laid down the most useful 
preliminary studies in the art of fresco painting, as far as 
architecture, light and shade, etc., etc., are concerned, we 
will now proceed with an outline of the method of prepar- 
ing ceilings, walls, etc., and also the proper mixtures for 
laying the grounds, stiles, etc., preparatory to running in 
the lines to form panels, ornaments and decorations. 

If the walls and ceilings are new plaster (that is clean). 
I would prefer giving them a good coat of paint previous 
to using the distemper colors, and for the best of reasons, 
for by so doing you insure against stains or a striking in of 
your distemper coats, which is very apt to occur if not 
painted. 

The first coat of paint should be mixed about two-thirds 
turpentine and one-third linseed oil, with as much japan 
drier as will dry it hard ; too much oil would be liable to 
bear out so as to cause your distemper color to crawl and 
not lay well, therefore better err upon the other side, viz. : 
too much turpentine rather than oil. 

When thoroughly dry have good glue in readiness, first 
prepared by steeping it over night in water to soften, then 
melt in a suitable pot or kettle, and be cautious not to 
overheat it in melting ; in fact it ought never to boil, for 
boiled glue never works well and soon spoils in mixed 
color. 

Then have good Paris whiting, take as much as you 
think you will require for the amount of work you intend 
to first coat, beat it up thick with water, be sure that you 
have it all reduced to a perfect pulp, no lumps. 

Then take a working pail, and put in as much of your 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 337 

beat-up whiting as will go over your intended piece of 
work. 

Then take the colors required to produce the shade 
wanted (the colors previously ground in water) and cau- 
tiously mix with the hand, which is preferable to a spatula 
or stick, till you get the shade desired, which you can prove 
very easily by drying a little on your hand or on a piece 
of white paper ; if too dark, add more whiting, or if too 
light, more color. When you have got the tint to your 
mind, take your melted glue and put in enough to bind 
the color very hard so as not to rise or wash up with your 
second coat. This you can also test upon a piece of paper 
before you lay the color upon your plaster, ceilings or 
walls, for by neglecting to have sufficient size or glue in 
your color your second coat will mix up with your first, 
and the two will roll and gather thereby spoiling your 
work 5 the result of which will be that you will have to 
sponge off both coats with water, thus loosing your time and 
materials, and suffering disappointment and mortification 
besides, for your neglect. 

If all goes well you will find that two coats will be suffi- 
cient in the most of cases, and ought to be made a rule as 
far as possible to manage ceilings with two coats. 

Having now got the plane of your ceiling or wall done 
you now proceed to mix up the color for the stiles or bord- 
er, and carry out a similar procedure with them until all 
looks smooth and solid, and if satisfied with the color and 
its covering qualities you next proceed to mix up all your 
shades for drawing your moldings as above directed, viz. : 
run all your light lines first, then the secondaries, deep, 
etc., relief, etc., until the molding yields a just resemblance 
to the order required j the corner pieces can now be acted 
upon, all cut in with the same colors ; when the last touches 
are put in let the edges be cut sharp and crisp, and do not 
forget the relief shadows to them also. Now examine the 
whole work carefully so that nothing shall be left undone 
or forgotten. 



228 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

CENTER PIECES WITH FLOWERS. 

If flowers are to be put in panels, first draw them cor- 
rectly, then proceed to color them according to nature if 
so wanted, then lay in a suitable ground around the group 
up to the molding, let it be a somber neutral color so as to 
sink the ground and relieve the flowers. If 

FLOWERS IN RELIEF, 

Tou work them out in the same colors as was used in 
the moldings of the ceiling, giving the group a strong re- 
lief shade ; but do not lay in any other ground but simply 
the panel color. 

Some fresco painters lay such panels in a diflferent color, 
but I question if that taste adds anything to the general 
beauty and chasteness of the ceiling ; it is too gaudy, too 
much, to use the vulgar term, '' ginger bread style." Yet 
some parties will have such work, and to please sometimes 
the artist has to give way ; but always suggest, where it 
is safe to do so, if for no other reason than to put yourself 
in a proper position before the public on such matters. It 
is the duty of an artist to state what is the right harmony, 
etc., whether adopted or not by the employer. 

COLOR FOR CEILINGS, WALLS, ETC. 

Regarding suitable colors for interior decoration, there is 
several considerations of importance which must be here 
noticed. 

First, the kind of building and its use, a church, a public 
hall or dwelling house ; also the position of the house in 
reference to the cardinal points of the compass, north, 
south, east or west, for the following reasons, viz. : 

If a south or west exposure, that portion of the house 
will have a large share of sunlight, consequently a natural 
warm glow of heat, while the north and east, although 
possessed of sufficient light, as a natural result, a certain 
coolness consequent to the want or absence or nearly so of 
direct sunlight. 

Therefore for south or west exposure it will be seen at a 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 229 

glance that cool colors must be selected, as a want of this 
knowledge might cause the most disagreeable feelings to 
those who had to endure the effects, although they might 
be altogether ignorant of the cause (by the painter) through 
neglect, or want of knowing why, this disagreeable feeling 
was induced. 

And vice versa for rooms situated on the north or east 
side of a house. The colors must be of a warmer shade or 
tint J thus, during the warm season the effects of color up- 
on the mind is such as to produce an equilibrium. 

So that any person passing through a house at any sea- 
son of the year would not, upon leaving a room on the 
north or east portion of the house to go into one in the 
south or west sides, feel any considerable change, if any, it 
would be but momentary, for the colors of the two would 
immediately blend or harmonize so as to produce a 
pleasing sensation. The effect of color thus has the power 
to some extent to equalize to the senses a feeling of nearly 
an even temperature. 

CHURCH COLORS. 

In referring to church decorations, much difference of 
opinion exists. Many hold as a fixed rule that churches in 
particular must have a somber monastic gloom. Such 
take the idea from visiting ancient buildings, the relics of 
past ages, which, on account of their walls being generally 
built of stone, and that stone work being the interior finish 
without plaster, such churches do, no doubt, while lighted 
by stained glass and heavy stone work in their windows, 
etc., cast a dull, melancholic gloom. But this result by no 
means claims it as a necessity that such cold, forbidding 
colors should be a standard to the present age. 

And further we take the ground that dark somber colors 
have nothing to do with produrdng religious feelings or awe. 
Decorations, colors, etc., style or order, ought to be care- 
fully selected and in good keeping, which should be such 
as to cherish a true sensibility of christian feeling, altoge- 
ther free from all depressing circumstances or causes such 
as cold, raw, uncongenial mixtures have the natural ten- 
dency to produce upon the mind. 



230 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

At the same time avoid all sich colors as would be suit- 
able for theater decoration. Rather choose a modest, plea- 
sant class of tints, a medium between the two, neither too 
bright and lively nor too dull and monotonous. 

PUBLIC HALLS OR LECTURE ROOMS. 

The best class of colors for such buildings are, or ought 
to be, pleasant, light, agreeable tints, neither too warm, 
nor in the other extreme, too cold. They require to be 
colors easily lighted, pure mixtures, not muddy but airy. 
Beautiful gray tints for the ceiling panels; pleasant cool 
butfs or drabs for the divisions or stiles, which can be 
broken up well in neutral tints, all combining to produce a 
sweet harmony. 

Ceilings so done require to have the walls in keeping, 
only giving your colors more tone or force, dividing judici- 
ously the various tints throughout the cornice, etc. Artificial 
moldings always partake of the color of the stiles, and are 
always allowed for in drawing out the breadth of your stiles. 
The order you select will always guide you in finding the 
various members constituting the molding required, etc. 

DWELLING HOUSES. 

The interior decorations of dwelling houses admits of 
more latitude. Here the painter has ample scope for the 
introduction of variety, as all colors consistent with the 
art of house decoration can be used with impunity. 

Still we would advise that colors of a chaste and pleas- 
ant character ought to be the general rule. 

Let the panel of the ceiling be of a tone of color agree-j 
able and in unison with all the other arrangements, for in- 
stance; ascertain the color selected for the upholstery, car- 
pets, etc. (if already a furnished house), then the colors can 
be made up in complete harmony. You can judge at once 
those colors that will be suitable not only for the panel, 
stile and cornice, but also for the walls ; and can also see 
what the contrasting shades ought to be to give the true 
tone and character to the whole. 

For panels grays of various shades are employed, vary- 



w 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 231 

ing from the delicate Frencli white to the decided French 
gray and lilac, compositions of white, blue, red and black. 

As already mentioned, whiting for the base of almost all 
the shades required. Ultramarine blue, cobalt, Prussian 
and verditer being the blues generally used. Indian red, 
Venetian, vermilion, lake, carmine and sometimes orange 
mineral ; but for large surfaces it ought to be avoided, as 
it will be liable to sink owing to its great density. 

The only blacks to be relied on are the blue black and 
the Frankfort, or pure ivory black. Lamp black ought 
to be discarded, as it is generally foul and greasy. 

Pink or rose tints are got by a mixture of red with white, 
employing any of the reds most suitable for the shade re- 
quired ; if very rich, carmine or lake, vermilion or Venetian 
red J Indian red, if not wanted bright. 

Greens. — Any good chrome green will answer ; mineral 
and Paris greens are of the first importance when bright 
greens are wanted, and works very clean. 

Buffs or Drabs. — A great variety of shades of that 
class or color can be attained by a mixture of yellow ocher, 
red, blue or black. Some introduce umber to great ad- 
vantage in drabs or buffs. If wanted cool add more blue 
or black and keep out the red, or subdue it nearly. 

Chrome yellow of various shades can be used, and if only 
used with discretion is a valuable color, but bear in mind 
that chrome is a color of great strength, and has to be used 
with caution and judgment. 

These shades can also be improved if they are wanted 
warm and mellow, by the addition of terra de sienna, either 
in its native raw state, or calcined, known as burned terra 
de sienna ; it gives a fine warm tone to those colors. 

If cool buffs or drabs are wanted, umbers can be intro- 
duced with effect, both raw and burned, producing great 
variety of color in mixture with or without yellow ocher. 
chrome yellow or raw sienna. The Turkey umber is supe- 
rior to the English or American, being a more pure earth 
and stands better. 



Vi4 



232' THE HOME MECHANIC. 



BROWNS FOR SHADING, ETC. 

Burnt umber, Vandyke brown, oxyde of iron (commonly 
called " colcother^'), purple brown, burnt ocher, burnt 
sienna, etc. Burnt sienna and ultramarine in mixture ; a 
beautiful shading color, not too much of the blue to show 
it. 

Always recollect that for ground colors the mixed whit- 
ing is the base of composition. 

In finishing panel work, where order is not entirely bind- 
ing, colors can be introduced which has a very fine efl*ect ; 
such as parting lines, sometimes red brown, green or blue. 

These are simply to divide contrasting or strong colors, 
and assist very much in relieving the whole work and gen- 
eral effect. But the pupil must be very cautious in intro- 
ducing such auxiliaries, for many times good colors, fair 
workmanship and contrast has been destroyed by such in- 
troductions, placing such strong tints where they really 
were not required, or of an improper tone to produce har- 
mony. 

CEILINGS ORNAMENTED WITH GOLD. 

Sometimes a ceiling is relieved by gilding. The center 
pieces, comer ornaments, a member of a molding, etc., are 
required to be so. 

Then the student must select some of the projecting or 
prominent parts, and having sized in for gilding, after which 
he must have his cushion, tip, cutting knife, etc., all in 
readiness, also a ball of soft cotton, large camel hair brush 
for dusting off all the sui-plus gold, etc. Then place your 
gold leaf upon the cushion, take your knife and cut it into 
strips of a proper size, draw your tip across your hair 
(having first drawn a piece of pure tallow over the hair so 
that a slight touch will cause the tip to lift up and carry 
the leaf to the piece of work to be gilded), then use the 
ball of cotton to lay it down, and clean off with the camel 
hair brush, etc. 

The size for gilding upon ceilings, etc., when a distem- 
per ground is laid, no oil size can be used without first 
running all the member in with a preparation sizing such 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 2SB 

as gum water, weak glue, or thin shellac varnish (bleached) 
so as to keep the oil size from staining or running. To 
obviate this trouble and save time an excellent size for 
such work can be made by intimately mixing with thick 
glue a little fine pure honey. This is what is called by 
the French artists " batture." They contend that this size 
hightens the color of the gold, and such experience will 
teach the student is the case j it also gives the gilding a 
fine luster, closely resembling burnished gilding. 

PAINTING VESTIBULES AND HALLS TO STAND 
WASHING, ETC. 

The walls must be prepared with oil paint, same as for 
any other painted wall, only the last coat must be '' dead " or 
"flat;" that is, no oil used in the last coat, only spirts of 
turpentine. In the last or flat coat there ought to be a little 
good pale copal varnish, about one tablespoonful to 
twenty -five pounds of paint; this gives a better aud harder 
surface to the wall, and bears handling much safer, for no 
man can fresco a wall e^j^tirely free of some casual ity oc- 
curring, such as charcoal lines to dust ofi^, a drop might fall 
from the brush, etc., and the varnish will enable the student 
to wash very lightly if anything should happen to require it. 

Before the wall recetves the last two coats, let the de- 
sign or paneling be all correctly drawn out. 

Then mixthe colors to the required tints (in oil), layin the 
panels first ; then the stiles, and when thoroughly dry, put 
on the flat or last coat (spirit color). The work will be 
dry for paneling in a few days. 

MIXTURE OF COLORS FOR THE PANELING 
OF WALLS OR VESTIBULES. 

Common spirits of turpentine for the mixing of the finish- 
ing colors is found to work too spare, does not cover very 
well, and cannot be bound enough to stand the frequent 
passing upward and downward which is required with the 
brush in running moldings or lines. 

Therefore the following mixture is found to answer the 
purpose very well, viz. : Turpentine, a little white wax, 



234 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

a little mastic varnish, and a little fine pale danaar varnish^ 
The quantity of the varnish must be very small, other- 
wise a gloss would be produced which would not die down 
flat in drying 5 all that is required by such a vehicle is 
simply to cause the color to hold or set quickly, so that 
the work can be more expeditiously carried on. / 

A little practice will soon teach the student the quanti- 
ties required, for it is not possible to give correct proportions 
for those mixtures ; besides every painter has some par- 
ticular mixture to which he prides himself. The above 
will answer all purposes. 

In preparing old walls or ceilings sometimes there are 
stains, cracks, etc., in the plaster ; these can be best seen 
after the old color has been removed by washing, which 
must always be done the first thing ; then mend all 
the blemishes in the plaster with size putty if small, 
or if deep cracks, taking plaster of Paris and a little putty 
lime, enough merely to keep the other from setting 
too quick. Damp all the places with a brush and water, 
then apply the plaster with a small trowel or knife, and 
finally wash and smooth over tfee places to make good 
sound mendings. When dry, give a coat of shellac var- 
nish to all the mendings. 

After all the necessary repairs are hard and dry, if the 
ceiling or wall is not to have a coat of paint, a prepara- 
tion coat in size will be necessary. This is a mixture of 
whiting with an extra quantity of melted glue, to which must 
be added a small amount of alum 5 give the plaster a full 
coat of that, allowing a full day to harden before the 
second coat is applied 5 in most cases the second coat is 
sufficient if the first coat has been nearly of the required 
color. But always have enough of size in the second coat 
to have it well bound, for it may happen that a third coat 
may be required to make a good fair surface. 

Still it is highly necessary to avoid too much accumula- 
tion of color, as it is liable to produce a roughness or harsh- 
ness, which is at once detected even by the inexperienced 
eye. 

Always give a coat '' full flowing." Never ai*empt to 
rub out the color, for such scantiness of color will be sure 
to ruin all your expectations and prove a failure. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 23.5 

NECESSARY IMPLEMENTS. 

A marble slab, to grind all the colors not to be had 
ground at the color shops. 

A good pallet knife. 

A stopping knife. 

A small trowel. 

A square. 

A set of straight edges. 

A T square. 

One pair compasses. 

One scale for measurement. (Gunthen) 

One foot rule. 

Chalk line. 

Colored chalks or crayons. 

Charcoal for drawing lines. 

Flat nailed stock brushes, or tin bound. 

Round wire bound brushes for cornices, etc. 

Sash tools, six sizes, from No. 2 to 8. 

Flat French tools for drawing lines, etc. 

Round quill or tin boftnd tools, various sizes, from small 
to large. 

Sable pencils, long and short, to use on scrolls, flowers, 
center pieces, etc., and various other purposes. 

An assortment of wood pails. 

Stone pots, large and small. 

Tin cups, large and small. 

Tin cans, one dozen or two, assorted in size 

Step ladders. 

Tressels for scafiblds, assorted bights j planks, etc. 

One glue pot, double made. 

One tin basin, wire bottom, for straining colors after the 
size is put in to remove any extraneous matter in the color. 

Any other necessary article omitted, can be supplied 
when needed. 

And here I would sum up with a few useful remarks by 
way of conclusion. 

Knowledge is the grand element of decision in all things, 
and no less so in painting ; and we should neglect no means 
placed at our disposal of attaining that element. 

The same avenues of information are open to us all that 



236 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

supplied the minds of Rubens and Titian, if we will but 
resolve to apply tbem. 

The peculiar feature of fresco painting is what may be 
called ''roughness;" and what som^ people would apolo- 
gize for on account of ''want of finish/' by saying that 
more finish is important, for that at a distance it would not 
be seen. 

But this is a very unfair and insuflficient view of the 
matter. Not only is there no occasion for more finish in 
fresco painting ; but properly speaking it is highly finished 
already. It is a mere question of focus. 

To finish a piece of work, is to regulate and complete 
the various parts in conformity to the whole, and this eflPect 
once accomplished, all beyond tends to undo instead of 
completing the painting. 

By attempting more finish you would obtain less, for the 
real finish in fresco painting is gained by keeping the tints 
bold and firm, that they may blend well when reviewed 
from a distance. 

TO PREPARE TRACING OR TRANSPARENT 

PAPER. 

Take one quart of spirits of turpentine, one quarter of 
an ounce of sugar of lead finely powdered, shake it up and 
let it stand for two days ; then pour off and add to it one 
pound of pure Canada balsam, set it in a gentle sand heat 
and keep stirring it until it is quite mixed, when it will be 
fit for use. Then have your paper ready on a smooth 
board, brush it over, and hang it up to dry. In about 
four days it will be fit for use. 

This paper will be extremely transparent. The most 
suitable paper is bank post, and when for very nice pur- 
poses, use fine tissue paper. 

COPYING OR TRACING SHEETS. 

Take some hard soap and lamp black, and mix them to- 
gether to the consistency of jelly. Brush over one side of 
any smooth paper with this composition and let it dry. 
Place the colored side of this paper upon a clean sheet on 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



237 



a smooth table ; over both these lay any design to be 
copied, and trace its outlines with a metallic or ivory point 
just sufficiently blunted to prevent its cutting the paper. 
The colored paper, wherever it is pressed upon by the 
point, will make a mark on the white sheet it covers, and 
the lowermost sheet will by this means receive Ihe whole 
design. 

Black lead, vermilion, or any other coloring matter may 
be employed. 

In copying any ornament from the sheet, use the precau- 
tion to fasten your sheets securely, for a shift of any of 
them would make a false copy. 

POUNCING ORNAMENTS OF ANY KIND. 

Prick the outlines of any design to be copied with small 
pin holes, very near to each other. Place the design to 
be copied upon a clean sheet of paper, and dust it over 
with finely powdered charcoal from a muslin bag. The 
charcoal will penetrate through the pin holes, and upon 
lifting up the pricked paper, the design will be found upon 
the sheet beneath it. The pricked paper will serve many 
times, and ought to be carefully laid away for use upon 
some other occasion. 

Correct copies of any scroll or design can be thus trans- 
ferred to a ceiling or wall with ease, and saves all the 
trouble and time in repeating drawings. 

STENCILING.* 

Draw any design necessary to ornament flowered mold- 
ings, trusses, friezes, etc., and with a sharp knife cut out 
the principal parts of the drawing, only leave as much as 
will connect and keep together the sheet in due form, then 
take a short brush with the color required, and not too 
thin, pass over the sheet carefully avoiding the liability 
of under-blotting, when the design will be painted entire 

*How TO Prepare Paper for Stenciling. — Cosit the sheets 
of paper with boiled oil first coat, tlien give tliem three more coats 
of oil paint, they will then stand the mixtnre of the water color and 
action of the brush. 



238 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

(with the exception of the small parts where the connec- 
tions were) J which can be touched up with a small brush 
with the same color. 

This method saves a great amount of labor, and for such 
pieces of worli answers very well ; all that has to be done 
is simply to put in the shade lines along with the others. 
Many ornaments are done in this manner, and to the fresco 
painter is a great economizer of time. Every appliance 
that can be adopted ought to be biought into requisition 
to lessen labor, and thereby add to the remunerative in- 
terests of physical action. 

In conclusion, I would say, persevere and the result is 
sure. 

ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE. 

The painter of interiors has constant use for pillars, 
columns and pilasters. We give, therefore, a specimen 
column of each principal order of architecture, with the 
technical designations of each part. The painter must 
constantly remember that these are only flat representa- 
tions of solid bodies, and he should study every fine row 
of columns that may come under his observation, and 
enlarge his knowledge by the study of some complete work 
on architecture ; and following these pillars we give a few 
designs for ceilings in fresco. Also an ornamental scroll 
and a border for several colors. But the painter in active 
practice will constantly find use for larger collections of 
designs. He should also be ready with pencil and sketch 
book to copy anything new which he may see, and to in- 
vent designs for himself. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 

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THE HOME MECHANIC. 



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THE HOME MECHANIC. 



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THE HOME MECHANIC. 



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THE HOME MECHANIC. 243 



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244 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 




BORDERS. 





THE HOME MECHANIC. 



245 



COMBINATION SCROLL. 




246 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



CORNERS. 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 



247 



WALL DECORATION IN TINTS. 




248 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



WALL PANEL DECORATIONS. 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 



249 



WALL DECOHATIONS. 



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254 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

A COMPLETE SYSTEM 

OP 

COACH PAINTING. 



This is a brancli of the art of great importance, yet one 
but very imperfectly known to the masses. One reason for 
this statement is that coach painters generally keep a very 
close surveillance over visitors, few, if any, are allowed to 
enter their workshops, and no class of painters are so un- 
willing to communicate any of the principals or theories of 
their business. 

House painting, sign painting, etc., are branches of the 
art that cannot be well concealed from the public gaze, for 
the operations are so common, and of every day occurrence, 
that any person of moderate ability can soon obtain suffi- 
cient information to enable them to do a passable piece of 
work, especially in house painting. Graining requires not 
only good judgment, a true sense of the various woods and 
marbles he wishes to imitate ; but also the organ of imita- 
tion well developed. Sign painting being in part mechanical, 
has been acquired with more ease than many other branches 
of the art, yet there are some points got only by long prac- 
tice and through the help of others in the same line. 

But, as stated above, coach painting differs so much 
from any of the above in the method, mixtures, etc., that 
even a good clear knowledge of any of the others is of no 
use when applied to coach painting. 

In starting with giving the pupil a correct idea of coach 
painting, it will be necessary first to mention the kind of 
materials, tools, etc., required. 

In no branch of painting should more care and knowl- 
edge be employed than in selecting the most suitable stock 
before commencing a piece of work ; for without paying 
strict attention to this fact, good work cannot be done. A 
first-rate coach painter cannot execute a piece of work to 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 255 

advantage with poor materials ; the paints must be of the 
best quality, varnish, japan, oil and turpentine dryers, etc. ; 
let those be good and the chances are all in your favor. 

MATERIALS REQUIRED. 

White lead, B. B. brand, ground in oil. 

Same quality, dry. 

Japan dryer. No. 1. 

Black Japan. 

Body copal varnish (flowing). 

Body (hard), for bringing up the work, for rubbing down 
and using in the previous coats, then finish with the body 
flowing. 

Carriage varnish, Nos. 1 and 2. 

Drop, or Frankfort black. 

Chrome yellows, of all shades to orange. 

Indian red. 

Vermilion. 

Venetian red. 

Orange mineral. 

Red lead. 

Scarlet lake. 

Crimson lake. ) ri i, • j. ? • i_ 

Purple lake. ] ^^^^^ P^'^*^^' ''^'^ P'^^' 

Yellow lake. 

Carmine 

Purple Brown. 

Burned Umber. 

Raw Umber. 

Burned and Raw Sienna. 

Chrome greens, assorted shades. 

Olive, or quaker's green. 

Ultramarine blue. 

Prussian blue. I 

Cobalt blue. 

French yellow (ocher). 

Whiting, best quality. 

Ground pumice. 

Pumice in lump. 

Rotten stone, very fine. 



256 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Tripoli powder. 

Granulated zinc (putty powder). 

Fine wheat flower. 

Olive oil for polishing. 

Brushes of suitable sizes, short for painting. 

Oval bound varnish brushes. 

Sash tools, assorted sizes. 

Pencils, large and small (sable). 

Long liners for striping (camel hair or sable). 

For fine lines, long black sable. 

Sand paper, assorted numbers. 

Emery paper, for rubbing old work, viz. : iron, springs, 
bolts, shackles, etc. 

Dusters. 

A few tressels to stand bodies upon of a suitable hight. 

A wheel stand, which is an upright mortised into a 
square block of wood, about two inches above the half 
diameter of the largest wheel ; have a pin of iron put 
through the upright, a little less than the size of the axle, 
and long enough to hold the wheel while painting or when 
striping. And another, made with a block or stool, with an 
upright bolt or pin from the center, so as to place a wheel 
upon a horizontal position. 

A bench for the flag and muller. A small paint mill 
attached to the bench for grinding colors. 

A square putty knife. 

A diamond pointed putty knife. 

A pallet knife. 

A hal/round file. } ^•"' "^"^'''''S «« work. 

Flat broad chisel. 

Flat scraper, or old plane iron, used when firing off old 
paint. 

Varnish pots (tin), with a wire across the mouth to 
wipe the brush over. 

Paint cans, assorted sizes. 

Oil cans, etc., marked for boiled and raw. 

Turpentine can. 

Japan can. 

Cloth, double milled, for rubbing the varnish coats. 

Sponge and chamois skin, etc. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 257 

Having mentioned almost all the necessaries required to 
furnish a coach painter, I will now proceed with the gen- 
eral instruction for preparing a carriage for painting. 

First, take and dust all the machine carefully before tak- 
ing it into the paint room. Have two boards like small 
table tops connected by a bolt in the center, so as to re. 
volve wben wanted. Place these upon the tressels, then 
take the body off the under carriage and set it upon the smaK 
tressels before mentioned, then take off the wheels and let 
the carriage rest upon the axle on a tressel of a proper 
hight, same as the wbeels ; take the wheel stand and place 
upon it one of the wheels, then the work will be all easy of 
access and ready to commence painting. 

In coach painting very little oil paint is required, and 
here is the difference that occurs between house and coach 
painting. Only two or three coats of oil paint is sufficient 
in bringing up the work. This we call priming. Just give 
as many coats as will carry out a slight gloss, no more. 

The best oil for this purpose is good drying oil, say two- 
thirds oil and one-third turpentine, and have a little of the 
fine litharge ground into it, about two ounces to twenty 
pounds of paint. The litharge causes the paint to become 
hard, and rub down better than if only drying oil alone 
was used. 

We mention litharge because it is the best dryer for this 
purpose. Patent dryer is, no doubt, convenient, being al- 
ready ground, but it never dries paint so hard as litharge, 
nor rubs down with the sand paper so well, being more apt 
to hang to or clog the paper, and roll or draw upon the 
work. 

After all is first coated and dry, take your sand paper 
and rub down very smooth, making sure to cut down all 
inequalities, ridges, or deficiencies in finish by the coach 
builder, otherwise by neglecting to do so on the first coat, 
you would have the mortification to find that those places 
would cut through in your second coat, thus losing your 
time to a considerable amount. 

You now dust your work carefully, and mix up some 
putty (better make your own) with whiting and oil (raw 
oil) and about one-fourth part white lead, and work into it 
while l^neading it, a little pulverized litharge to make it 



258 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

dry good and hard. This is very important, as the putty 
should be dry, otherwise it would rub up in the pro- 
cess of the work, and spoil the entire job. Observe that 
the putty must be stitf, and well worked up, before using 
it. You now take your putty -knife and fill up every crack, 
crevice, knot hole, etc., etc ; level every inequality smooth 
and fine j study rather to have your filling-up rather high- 
er than otherwise, for you will put that all right when rub- 
bing down the next coat, but if below the level, you have 
to commence puttying again. That is bad work, so be 
sure to putty carefully. All this done, then dust off the 
work again, previous to second coating. Should your col- 
or be too stout or thick, thin with turpentine, but be sure 
not to use thin color, for it not only covers badly, but rubs 
down very tacky. 

For all dark colors, use a dark lead color for your oil 
coats— '^ merely black and white," but, for preparing for 
any such color as light green, let the color be light lead 
color. 

If for a yellow, begin with white, or slightly tinted with 
a little chrome yellow. 

In laying your second coat, be sure to lay it regular, not 
fat in some places and spare in others, but as far as pos- 
sible an equal fair coat, and we would wish to guard you 
against one of the very worst faults a painter can commit, 
viz. : to leave full or fat edges upon any part of the work, 
such as the springs, shackles, bolt-heads, or nuts, or any 
part of the can-iage, for if left by neglect, they will tell 
upon you at some stage of the work, and at a time, pos- 
sibly, when you cannot well repair the evil done ; therefore 
be careful. 

When this second coat is dry, examine minutely, that 
you have missed none of the places requiring putty. 

The second coat being thoroughly dry, proceed to rub 
down with your sand-paper, using a finer quality this time, 
so as not to cut so deep, hoping that all projections have 
been cut down upon the previous coats. Now dust off 
your work, and commerce to give the third coat, putting 
on a very tight coat (that is, rubbing it out well, not too 
much paint). 

After the work is all dry and hard, you next proceed to 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 259 

giving the filling up coats. Filling is a mixture prepared 
as follows : Take dry French j^ellow, litharge, a little white 
lead, whiting — say about one-sixteenth litharge — a small 
quantity of white lead, a small amount of whiting ; a little 
red lead \\ill also improve it ; take your drying Japan and 
pour in as much as will nearly mix it,- put in a very little 
drying oil, very careful not to have too much, otherwise the 
filling will be soft and tough ; turpentine to thin to a 
suitable thickness, to make it spread like a stiff coat of 
paint. This filling must be laid full, a coat to flow on 
freely. A little practice is necessary to find out the 
exact quantities of thinners to be used in mixing good 
''filling up stuff." After all is right, commence to coat 
your body, laying it fullest where you see any hollow or 
want that you cannot putty very well, as this is really its 
use. Then, if a good job, coat your shafts, springs, 
wheels, etc., etc.. etc., and when all is done over, let it 
stand until all is perfectly hard (try with your thumb nail) j 
if it feels hard and don't peel up, it will stand another 
coat. 

In the most of cases, two coats of filling will be suffi- 
cient. The last coat must be allowed to dry hard, as it 
has to be all rubbed down with lump pumice stone. Rub 
the pumice flat upon a stone before you commence rubbing 
down carriage work. 

When the student begins to rub he is to be very cau- 
tious to avoid cutting through, and here he will find a 
" proof" whether or not he has paid attention to rubbing 
down carefully with his sand-paper, for if he has not, of 
course his pumice will cut in all places neglected, as stated 
above. 

In rubbing down with lump pumice, you must use plenty 
water ; keep your sponge in your left hand, and supply 
water whenever required ; it will cut quicker, and not be 
liable to roll up, as it would undoubtedly do if not kept 
perfectry wet. Draw your finger or side of the hand over 
the parts you are rubbing and you will see when you have 
it done enough, that is. all perfectly firm and smooth. Then 
you have done all that is required. Take your sponge and 
wash off all the work ,• wring out your wash leather (cham- 
ois) and dry off the job ; then if all is perfect, all filled, 



260 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

the work will feel like a piece of ivory, quite smooth and 
level. 

A panel or piece of coach work cannot be got level or 
fit for finishing without being filled up by this method, for 
the grain of the wood will always be more or less seen un- 
less done so. 

We now come to the next stage of operations, viz. : 
color. 

Whatever color the carriage is to be painted, the color 
must be fresh ground, as it is a mixture that drys very 
quick. 

If you want a dark green of the olive shades, you take 
deep chrome yellow and drop black ; have your black 
powdered ; mix the two together in a pot with the drying 
japan, and a little turpentine — not too much spirits at first, 
as it would not grind well if thin ; put your mixture into 
the bench mill and grind it into a clean pot (always wash- 
ing out the mill, to keep it clean), then see if the shade is 
of the kind desired; if too dark, you want more yellow, 
or vice versa-, if the color is wanted warm olive or quak- 
eFs green, put in a little India or Venetian red. 

Now take a clean brush, and make up the color to the 
proper thickness and commence work at once ; as the color 
drys pr sets very quick, be expeditious in laying it on. 
The same care is not now so necessary as regards fat edges, 
as the color will all dry hard. Still, avoid all careless or 
slovenly work j always work clean, 'if you want the work 
to look well. A small drop of drying oil can be used in 
very warm weather, if it should set too fast to allow time 
to lay the color, yet an expert never uses any oil, and it is 
better not to use any, unless you wish to let the work 
stand for a longer period of time than usual. By working 
the color free of oil, two coats per day can be given easily. 
Two coats of this color will be sufficient. I have often 
done a good piece of work with one flowing coat. 

All plain colors are done in the same manner } all opaque 
colors that cover well require no more. 

Greens, browns, olives, yellows, etc., etc., but for an ul- 
tramarine blue, the work has to be got up very differently. 

You must ground up after your filling has been rubbed 
down, washed, dried, etc, with a coat in " oil," that is not 



THEJ HOME MECHANIC. iS^l 

in "japan," using just so much oil with the color to keep 
it from setting too quick ; for such colors use sugar of lead 
for the dryer, in preference to japan dryers, as the color 
will be purer. Grind some good Prussian blue in oil, then 
add to a mixture of white lead as much blue as will make 
a ground dark enough for to bear the ultramarine blue, 
that is about as dark as you wish the carriage to be when 
finished. You now proceed to give a nice careful coat over 
all Ih? work that is to be finished blue. When dry, if 
solid enough, it will require no more Prussian blue, but 
generally two coats are required. 

When satisfied that your ground is good, take some of 
the best ultramarine blue, grind it on the stone with a little 
varnish, pour out some of your body flowing varnish into a 
clean pot, put in your ultramarine already ground, and with 
a clean brush mix well the blue with your varnish 5 try if 
there is blue enough in it, and, if all right, commence 
to give a very regular flowing coat all over, and the 
colored varnish coat will flow on very evenly and give a 
tone and transparency, a depth of color which cannot be 
got by using full ultramarine alone. We always recom- 
mend two coats for a coach wanted in this peculiar color, 
second coat the same as the first, only before giving the 
second coat rub down all the work with ground pumice and 
water, with a cloth. You thus remove the gloss, and the 
next coat will lay and flow better. Let the work stand for 
a few days, then rub down again with ground pumice and 
water, wash, and dry with your skin, after which the work 
is all ready for picking out and striping, of which I will 
lay down general rules hereafter. 

CLARET OR LAKE COLORS. 

Your first coat is composed of vermilion and rose pink, 
in oil, as for blue. Filling all rubbed down, washed, dried, 
etc., dust clean, then proceed to give a coat ; this you will 
find to cover very well. When dry, give another light 
coat J as soon as hard, rub with ground pumice and water, 
same process as for blue. Dust clean and nice. 

If you wish a very rich light claret, you must calculate 
not to have too much rose pink in your ground color, for 



2Q2 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

if you do, you will not get the color you auticipate. But 
for darli clarets, use considerable rose pink. The student 
must pay attention to these important hints. 

For the light shade, have some scarlet lake 5 grind in a 
similar way as directed for ultramarine ; take the body- 
flowing varnish and put in the lake ; mix well, and pro- 
ceed to coat very carefully. This color sometimes takes 
three coats, but with due care, and a good brush hand, it 
can be attained with two coats. 

DARKER SHADES. 

Use more rose pink in the ground. Then, instead of 
scarlet lake, use the best crimson lake, and in the same 
manner as for the light claret ; two coats will be enough 
if carefully laid. In all those colors got, the principal 
idea is to have a solid, true body, not shady but fair. 

STILL A DARKER SHADE. 

Vermilion, rose pink, a little ultramarine blue, for the 
ground. This is for a purple shade of claret. Ground 
good and solid. 

Then grind some purple lake, same as above j put into 
your '^ body -flowing varnish;'^ two coats will be enough, 
if managed well. Should any imperfections appear, give 
another coat and all will be sure. 

TO PAINT A CARRIAGE PURE CARMINE. 

This is sometimes required for fancy machines, or fire- 
engines, hose carriages, etc. Many painters fail in paint- 
ing with this very valuable color, and also through ignor- 
ance of how to use it. They very generally attempt to 
get the color by the use of the carmine alone. This color, 
if pure, is worth $3 per ounce. 

Ground your work with the best English vermilion ; see 
that the color is complete and solid. 

Then take pure carmine, grind in a little drying oil, put 
it into the body-flowing varnish, and coat very carefully. 
It will take two coats to produ<te a solid, pure color. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. ^63. 

By this method, one ounce bottle will do a whole ma- 
chme, thereby saving a large amount of cash for carmine, 
and time, which is capital, and at the same time produce a 
very superior color to anything that can be realized from 
pure carmine. 

All the above colors are produced by what is called in 
the trade, glaizing. ' 

A green can be done in the same way : laying a light I 
green for a ground, then use the green lake to glaize, as in 
the clarets, carmines, ultramarines, etc. 

^' JAP AX BROWN." 

Grind drop black in japan ; add to it a little vermilion, 
just enough to see it. This makes a very rich color, and 
looks very well with vermilion lines, or an orange line ; 
either looks well. 

OXFORD BROWNS. 

Take a little chrome yellow, white lead, India red, best 
ocher, burned umber, just white enough to be seen ; yellow 
is the principal color ; red to warm it, umber to give it the 
brown tone. 

Many varieties of Oxford brown can be made by the 
adding more or less of the leading colors of the compos- 
itions. 

CHROME GREENS OF ALL SHADES, 

Or greens composed of chrome yellow and Prussian 
blue. Let all the greens be ground in japan. Being 
opaque, they all work in that way remarkably well, and 
by far superior to any attempt in oil. 

FAWN COLROS. 

Yellow, red, a little black, or a little burned umber may 
be added, even burned terra de sienna is sometimes put in 
the mixture. Coach colors vary from the shades in gen- 
eral use by house and sign paintf^rs. They are strictly a 
class of colors peculiar to ttiat branch of the art., and arf 



264 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

tied to no cornmon established rule. I have seen a carriage 
painted with the cleaning of several pots, forming a color 
that would puzzle almost the best colorist to imitate, yet 
it looked first rate, although a nondescript ! We advise 
the adoption of the principle, as it not only produces var- 
ieties of color but will be a point of economy of great im- 
portance, as much valuable color is often thrown away 
through this want of judgment, mto the common receptacle 
for all left colors called the " smudge barrel." 

DRABS. 

Any variety can be made to suit the most fastidious. 

Composition drabs, red black, and yellow, umber ; also 
some mineral colors, from which many fine tints can be 
made. Raw umber and white alone constitute a good cool 
drab, and can be toned either with a little " chrome/^ or 
" red/' so as to be either rich, or warm. Any fancy shade 
of color wanted can be mixed with perfect ease, for very 
soon the student will acquire sufficient knowledge of color 
to mix any shade he desires. 

A GOOD, DURABLE, CEHAP COLOR. 

Vermilion and Prussian blue. This is an easy way of 
getting at a cheap, rich purple, with a small quantity of 
white lead. 

ANOTHER. 

Vermilion and drop black makes a cheap plum brown, 
or claret ; covers well, and looks and stands well, although 
far deficient to the claret got up by glaizing with crimson 
lake, already mentioned 5 but for low priced work looks 
very well indeed, and will not cost one-half the price j as 
much time is saved, and the materials moderate. 

Having given a general outline of colors, we propose to 
next point out to the student the manner of " breaking 
out," or ^' picking out," as the trade term has it. 

That is, laying ui the lines or stripes, '^ blue ground." 
If a large carriage, with heavy wheels^ draw lines (with 



THE HOME MECHANIC. S65 

japan mixed color) with ground Frankfort black, from 
three-quarter inch to one inch broad, on every part of the 
carriage, spokes and springs, filloes, hub, etc., etc., etc., 
shafts, etc. Then, with a light primrose, or light orange 
color, draw fine lines about three-eighths or a quarter of 
an inch from the broad black line, showing that separating 
distance clear and distinct of the blue between. 

And great care is required in drawing the fine lines, so as 
to have them true and oqui-distant Wherever the broad 
black line is drawn, carry your two fine lines all through the 
work, bolt heads and nuts black with one fine line round 
the edge. 

For an extra finish a fine line can be drawn down the 
center of the black, a deep orange, or pure white, or gold. 
This style looks very beautiful. 

In drawing fine lines, as a general rule, the color is 
ground in drying oil, as it combines more closely, and gives 
out from the pencil much better, and makes the lines more 
regular, although for work in a hurry, where the lines are 
not required to be so fine, japan color will do. 

GREENS. 

Generally pick out with black, and if a light green, 
black lines will be enough. If a little more expense is to 
be gone to, run up the center of the black lines with a 
white, and not too fine. This makes a good neat finish. 

If a dark green, pick out with black, and run very fine 
line on each edge of the black, three-eighths of an inch off 
the black. With a very bright green, that looks very nice 
indeed, or any other color to suit the taste of the artist. 

CLARETS. 

Almost all colors of this class are picked out with black. 
Fine side lines are either vermilion or a rich orange -, or 
side lines of orange, not too dark, and a vermilion line run 
up the center of the black ; or one large black line, with a 
gold line up the center, about one-sixteenth of an inch 
strong. 



266 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



FAWN COLORS. 



Pick out with black, fine line with white on each edge, 
or brown drab shade — any color that will show well and 
be in harmony. 

OXFORD BROWN. 

Pick out with black, fine line vermilion or medium tint 
of chrome yellow with a perceptible touch of red in it. 
Sometimes part the black line with white down the center. 

JAPAN OR PLUM BROWN. 

Vermilion line looks best of any color, and for cheap 
work requires nothing more. 

BLACK BOLTS AND NUTS. 

Some dark colors (very dark) look well to pick out with 
drab, or fawn color, edge lines vermilion, center line black 
This looks very clean and showy. 

OLIVE, OR QUAKER'S GREENS. 

Pick out generally with black, fine line with white 
orange, or light green. 

DRABS OF ALL SHADES. 

Pick out with black, fine line with vermilion, or orange 
high colored. Extra finish, center line white. 

PURPLE. 

Pick out with black, fine line with a bright line of orange 
or lilac, or with vermilion. 

These remarks apply to most of the colors in use by 
coach painters, although there can still be a greater var- 
iety of work done than we can enumerate, which can be 
put in practice at any time. 

The next operation is to varnish. Now, it appears a 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 267 

simple process, but it requires not only great practice but 
considerable "knack." One thing must be understood and 
put in practice, viz. : never use a dirty brush or pot ; keep 
your brush in a narrow tin case or canister in raw oil ; cut 
a hole in the top large enough to admit the handle of the 
brush, and bore a small hole through the handle to admit 
a piece of wire to hold it up from the bottom, for if the 
point of the brush touch or rest on the bottom, the bristles 
will be turned, consequently will not lay the varnish close 
and smooth. "Wash the brush out clean with turpentine 
before using. 

Then pour into your pot (if for the under carriage) some 
carriage varnish, and work in your brush thoroughly ; then 
start either upon your wheels or carriage first, it is of no 
importance which ; lay a full coat, never pinch it, for a 
half coat of varnish is always poor and hasky, and never 
yields a good gloss. When all your carriage work is done 
pour back the varnish into your can, then take some body 
varnish and give your first coat to it also ; then let all 
stand until it is quite hard and dry. 

Then take»your ground pumice and water and cloth rub- 
ber (woolen cloth) and wet it well ; then have some pum- 
ice on a board or plate convenient, dip the clo^h in the pum- 
ice and commence to rub every part of the varnish, taking 
great care not to run through any of the ground, or lines, 
but merely to remove the gloss. This we call flatting the 
work. Then wash of all the pumice thoroughly, and dry 
with the wash leather, which must always be used wet ; 
just wring it out of the water as dry as you can, and it will 
dry best ; never use it dry. You now examine the work 
carefully, and see if you have cut through anywhere ; if 
you have, you must touch it up with japan color, so as to 
dry soon, then you can begin your second or last coat. 

A very good job can be done with two coats. Give a 
very full coat, almost to running, and lay it oft' very cleail. 
When you do the wheels, a full coat, take and spin them 
upon the standard for some time, indeed until nearly set. 
This plan is not generally practised, but it gives a very 
superior gloss, and secures the danger of the varaish run- 
ning, a very important point, and one not easily got quit 
of, and about the worst eyesore that can occur. 



268 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



If this second coat do not please you, flatten the coat 
again with your pumice, cloth, and water j wash and dry 
as before, and then give a reasonable coat carefully. 

In good jobs, where it is required to be polished, you 
must commence with fine ground pumice ; do not depend 
npon the fineness of the pumice as sold, but. for this pur- 
pose, take and mix with water, then grind it upon the flag 
very fine, then there will be no danger of scratching. 

Rub just enough to bring all to a perfect smooth state, 
all brush marks removed, then wash very clean and dry 
well 5 then dust carefully. But always before washing, 
drying, etc., sweep out your floor, and sprinkle with water 
to lay the dust. The same precaution is necessary always 
before varnishing, for dust getting into the varnish will 
cause the work to look '^ seedy," or lousey, as the painters 
call it. 

Your next operation in polishing is to take rotten stone, 
finely sifted through muslin, and mix in olive oil; take a 
piece of fine cloth for a rubber, and rub every piece very 
carefully, which will again restore the gloss by reducing it 
to fineness again ; rub off the rotten stone occasionally 
with the side of your hand or finger, and you will see if all 
is polished enough. 

Then, if all right, take and wipe off with a piece of soft 
old cotton cloth, free of dust, then take some fine wheat 
flour, and a piece of fine flax full of the flour, rub all the 
work over so as to take up all the oil and rotten stone that 
is upon the work, then with an old silk handkerchief wipe 
all the work up pretty smartly, and if all has been done 
right and with care, the work will have a very fine, bril- 
liant gloss. 

Some finish with putty powder, and others use Tripoli 
instead of pumice. But the above process answers every 
purpose that is required. But when the work is intended 
to have a polish and burnish finish, always give an extra 
coat of varnish, as it is not good policy to attempt polish- 
ing on two coats of varnish, for such work is generally 
left from the brush if clearly /amished. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 2C9 



FACING PUTTY FOR SMALL FLAWS. 

Mix whiting, a little white lead, litharge a small quan- 
tity, with japan dryers, and add a little drying oil — very 
little ; work this very well, not too hard, and use it 
quickly as it sets very soon. This putty will rub down 
very soon, and not tear up with the pumice stone or 
sand paper. 

FIRING OFF. 

Firing off is a term used by painters. Some use a 
gas burner attached to a rubber hose pipe, so as to di- 
rect it to any portion of the work required to be cleaned 
off. The lieat causes the paint to soften, so that it can 
be easily removed by the blunt chisel, or plain iron ; 
then can be reduced to evenness by rubbing down with 
lump pumice and water. Another method is to take a brush 
with turpentine, lay on a coat upon one part, then, with 
a match or candle, set fire to it. When the old paint 
becomes soft enough, blow out the flame, and remove with 
the chisel, etc. Another way is to hold smoothing irons 
to the part, and, if very hot, the paint will soon soften 
so as to be easily removed. 



In conclusion, I would state that by attending to the in- 
structions here given, and by a little practice, any man of 
moderate ability, a steady hand, etc., will very soon have 
the satisfaction of tm'ning out a good piece of coach- 
painting. Striping, if well done, tends much to the beauty 
of the work, so the student will have to practice 
this department with care. Hold the pencil between 
the finger and thumb and gauge with the fingers, keep- 
ing the thumb u})permost, and drawing the hand back- 
ward ; by this means he will draw the lines straight and 
quick — one pencil full will run a whole spoke, from the 
hub to the feloe, all but a small piece, which he must 
join^ by drawing from the feloe to the line. 



270 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

GAR PAINTING. 

By R. MoKEON. 

The. fRiMiNG Coat. — The priming coat of paint on a 
car is of as mucli importance as any succeeding one, and 
perhaps more. 1 have seen good work ruined in the prim- 
ing by little or no attention being given by the painter to ^ 
the mixing and applying of the first coat. The foundation 
is the support, and on that rests your success or failure. 
The priming should be of the proper materials, and not 
picked up from old paints which have been standing mixed, 
a<nd must necessarily be fat and gummy, for such is unfit 
for use on a good job, and will have a decided tendency to 
spoil the whole work. 

Special care should be exercised as to the priming, and it 
should be put on very light, so that it may penetrate well 
into the wood. 

If lead be used, two coats should be given to the car before 
it is puttied, as it is best to fill well with paint the nail-holes 
and plugs, as well as defects in the wood, so that moisture 
may not secure a lodgment, which otherwise will cause put- 
ty to swell, although sometimes unseasoned lumber will 
swell the putty, and as it shrinks, the nail remains station- 
ary, and of course the putty must give way. 

PUTTYIN& AND LEVELING THE SURFACE. In mixing 

putty, which may be a small matter with some, take care to 
so prepare it that it will dry perfectly hard in eighteen 
hours. Use ground lead and japan, stiffening up with dry 
lead, and whatever coloring you may require in it to match 
your priming coats. The next coats, after the work is well 
puttied, should be made to dry flat and hard. Two coats 
should be applied, and for all ordinary jobs or cheap work, 
sand-papering is all that is necessary for each coat ; but 
when a good surface is required, I would recommend one 
coat to be pat on heavy enough to fill the grain, and before 
being set, scrape with a steel scraper. The plain surface 
is all that requires coating and scraping with the heavy 
mixture ; for this coat, which we call " filling," I use one- 
half ground lead and any good mineral which experience 
^ ha* shown can be relied upon. This scraping of the pane? 



THE HOME MECHANiCr. 271 

work will fill the wood equal to two coats of rough stuff, 
and saves a great amount of labor over the old process, 
when so much iMbbing with lump pumice-stone was done. 
Sand-paper when the filling is thoroughly hard, and apply 
another coat of paint of ordinary thickness, when, after 
another light sandpapering, you have a good surface for 
your color. 

Rough coating on cars has gone almost out of use, and I 
believe that but few shops are now using it to any extent. 
My experience is that paint has less tendency to crack 
where rough stuff is left off. I do not claim thatth** "fin- 
ing" was the principal cause of the cracking, it it was 
properly mixed, but I believe the water used in rubbing 
down a car with the lump pumice-stone injures the paint, 
as it will penetrate in some places, more particularly around 
the moldings and plugs. 

Coloring. — The car being ready for the finishing color, 
this should be mixed with the same proportions of dryer as 
the previous coat, or just sufiBcient to have it dry in about 
the same time. A very great error with many car-painters 
is using a large portion of oil in the under coats, and then 
but little, if any, in the finishing coats ; this has a decided 
tendency to crack, the under coats being more elastic. I 
always aim to have color dry in about the same time after 
I have done my priming; by this plan, I secure what all 
painters should labor to accomplish — very little liability to 
crack. Work will, of course, crack sometimes, after being 
out a few months, or when it has repeated coatings of var- 
nish; aud using a quick rubbing varnish on work will 
cause it to give way in fine checks quicker than anything 
else. Many of the varnishes we use are the cause of the 
paint cracking, and no painter has been wholly exempt 
from this trouble. 

Japan Dryers. — The most common cause for paint 
cracking is poor japan, which is the worst enemy that the 
car-painter has to contend with; the greater part of the 
japan that we get is too elastic, and will dry with a tack, 
and some of the "japan gold-size" we have has the same 
fault. A little more care in the manufacture of japans 
would give us a better dryer, and few would object to the 
additional cost. J apan that I have frequently had T found 



272 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

to curdle in the paint; it would not mix with it, but would 
gather in small gummy particles on the lop. Work painted 
with such material cannot do otherwise than crack and 
scale, and the remedy lies only in getting a good pure ar- 
ticle of turpentine japan. 

White Lead. — In regard to using ground lead, car- 
painters differ, as some prefer to grind their own in the 
shop. I use the manufactured lead, and my reasons for 
doing so are that it is generally finer than any shop can 
grind it with present facilities, and it has age after grind- 
ing which improves its quality. You can also get a purer 
lead and with more body than you can by grinding in the 
shop, which is a fact that most painters must admit ; I have 
tested it very fully, and am convinced on this point. 

Permit me to make a few suggestions here in regard to 
the mixing of paint, which may not fully agree with others' 
views. There is just as much paint that cracks byputtmg 
it on too flat as by using too much oil. I have seen some 
painters mix their finishing color so that it was impossible 
to get over a panel of ordinary size before it was set under 
the brush, and consequently the color would rough up. 
Color should be mixed so that it will not flat down for 
some time after leaving it, and then you have got some 
substance that will not absorb the varnish as fast as it is 
applied to the surface. This quick drying of color is not 
always caused by want of oil in it, but because there is 
too much japan, and a less quantity of the latter will do 
better work and make a smoother finish. Give your color 
forty-eight hours to dry between coats ; I always give that 
time unless it is a hurried job and we have very few such 
jobs in the shop, as experience has fully demonstrated that 
it is poor economy to hurry work out of the shop before 
it is properly finished. 

Oils. — In car-painting, both raw and boiled oils are used, 
and good work may be done with either, but I would rec- 
ommend oil that is but slightly boiled in preference to 
either the raw or the boiled. After it is boiled, if it is done 
in the shop, let it stand twenty-four hours to settle, then 
strain off carefully; this takes out all the impurities and 
fatty matter from the oil, and it will dry much better, nor 
will it have that tack after drying that you find with com- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 273 

mon boiled oil. Use the proper quantity of dryer in mix 
ing your paint, and a good reliable job will be the result. 
In car-painting, I would never recommend the use of pre- 
pared colors which are ground in oil, as nine-tenihs of 
such colors are ground in a very inferior oil, and they may 
have been put up for a great length of time, in which case 
the}'' become fatty and invariably crack. These canned 
goods do not improve with age as lead and varnish do. 
Finishing colors should all be ground in the shop, unless 
special arrangements can be made with manufacturers to 
prepare them, and the color should be fresh, not over six 
or eight days old after being mixed and open to the air. 
Enough may be prepared at a time to complete the coating 
on a job, but when color stands over a week, it is not fit to 
use on first-class work, as it becomes lifeless, and has lost 
that free working that we find in fresh mixed colors ; such 
color may, however, be used upon a cheap class of work, or 
on trucks, steps, etc., so that nothing need be wasted in the 
shop. 

Varnishing. — Three coats of varnish over the color are 
necessary on a first-class coach. The first coat should be a 
hard -drying varnish put on the flat color; the quick rub- 
bing that some use I would not recommend, but one that 
will dry in five days (in good drying weather) sufiBcently 
hard to rub, is the best for durability. After striping and 
ornamenting the car, and when thoroughly washed, give a 
coat of medium drying varnish, let this stand eight days; 
then rub lightly with curled hair or fine pumice-stone, and 
apply the finishing coat, which is "wearing body; "this will 
dry hard in about ten days, after which the car may be run 
out of the shop. It should then be washed with cold water 
and a soft brush, and it is then ready for the road. In var- 
nishing, many will apply the varnish as heavy as they can 
possibly make it lie, when, as a consequence, it flows over 
and runs, or sags down in ridges, and of course does not 
harden properly; this also leaves substance for the weather 
to act on. It is better to get just enough on at a coat 
to make a good even coating which will flow out smooth, 
and this will dry hard, and will certainly wear better than 
the coat that is piled on heavy. 

Varnishing, we claim, can be overdone, some painters' 



2'?'4 The iiom:-] iAieciianic. 

opinions to the contrar/. "We have heard of those who 
put two and a half gallons on the body of a fifty-foot car 
at one application, and we have also listened to the decla- 
ration made by a member of the craft, that he put two 
gallons on the body of a locomotive tank. Such things 
are perhaps possible, and may have been done, but if so, 
we know that the work never stood as well as it would if 
done with one-half the quantity to a coat. In varnishing 
a car, care should be taken to have the surface clean; water 
never injures paint where it is used for washing, and a 
proper attention to cleanliness in this respect, and in the 
care of brushes used for varnishing, will insure you a 
good-looking job. 

Suggestions on Regulation of the Shop. — Perhaps 
your shop facilities for doing work are none of the best, 
but do the best you can with what you have ; select, if pos- 
sible, a still, dry day for varnishing, especially for the fin- 
ishing coat. Keep your shop at an even temperature* 
avoid cold draughts on the car from doors and windows, 
wet the floor only just sufficient to lay the dust, for if too 
wet, the dampness arising will have a tendency to destroy 
the luster of your varnish. Of course, we cannot always 
do varnishing to our perfect satisfaction, especially where 
there are twenty-five or thirty men at work in an open 
shop, and six or eight cars are under the process of paint- 
ing, when more or less dirt is sure to get on the work. 

A suggestion might here be made to railroad managers, 
which is, that no paint-shop is complete where the entire 
process of painting and finishing a car has to be done in 
one open shop. A paint-shop should be made to shut oS 
in sections by sliding doors, one part of the shop being 
used exclusively for striping and varnishing. I know from 
experience that nine-tenths of the railroad paint-shops are 
deficient in this particular, and still we are expected to 
turn out a clean job, no matter what difficulties we are 
compelled to labor under. Many further hints might be 
given in regard to this matter of shop facilities and con- 
veniences, but as it is not here my object to argue the point, 
I leave it with this brief mention. 

Proper Care of Cars. — In regard to the care of a car 
after it has left the shop, I think more attention should be 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 275 

given to this than is done on many roads. The car should 
not be allowed to run until it is past remedy, and the dirt 
and smoke become imbedded in the varnish, actually form- 
ing a part of the coating, so that when you undertake to 
clean the car you must use soda or soap strong enough to 
cut the varnish before you succeed in removing the dirt. 
Cars should be washed well with a brush and water at the 
jend of every trip; this only will obviate the difficulty, and 
these repeated washings will harden the varnsih as well as 
increase its luster. 

We know that in washing a car, where soap is required 
to remove the dirt and smoke, it is almost impossible to 
get the soap washed oft clean, and if it is not, the hot sun 
and rain will act on the varnish and very soon destroy it. 

Cars should be taken in and revarnished at least once in 
twelve months ; and if done once in eight months, it is 
better for them, and they will require only one coat; but 
where they run one year they will most generally need 
two coats. Those varnished during the hot months will 
not stand as well as if done at any other time. Painting 
done in extreme cold weather, or in a cold shop, is more 
liable to crack than if done in warm weather. 

Paint dried in the shop where there is a draught of dry 
air passing through it, will stand better than that dried by 
artificial heat; and you will find, by giving it your atten- 
tion, that work which has failed to stand, and that cracked 
or scaled, was invariably painted in the winter season or in 
damp wet weather. I have paid some attention to this 
matter, and know the result. 

Publishers^ Note. — Haney's "Book of Scrolls and Orna- 
ments" has many designs especially for Car painting, and 
is already adopted in several prominet shops. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 277 



THE 

Furniture and Cabinet Finisher. 



POLISHING MATERIALS. 

Preparatory polishing materials, previous to any 
painting, graining, staining, varnisliing, or any other 
finishing operations, most useful to the wood-finisher, are 
sand-paper, glass-paper, pumice-stone and rotten-stone. 
A good surface on wood is commonly obtained with the 
aid of fine No. sand or glass-paper. It is well to chalk 
the back of the sand-paper, both because the workman 
can hold it easier and because it seems to toughen the 
paper. Sand-paper becomes too brittle by being kept in 
a very dry atmosphere. When this is the case, moisten 
the back very moderately with the tongue or otherwise. 

For use on large, flat surfaces, it is expedient to draw 
the sand-paper over a flat cork about three to four inches 
square and about an inch and a quarter thick. Where 
the grain of any wood is apt to rise after the sand-pa- 
pering, it is well to wet the surface of the wood after 
the first sand-papering; to let it stand an hour or two, 
and then to repeat the papering with an old piece of 
paper. To do this a third and a fourth time is some- 
times necessary for a first-rate result. 

Another method of preventing the grain from rising 
is to give to give the work, after the first sand-papering, 
a coat of thin shellac varnish. This, when dry, is sand- 
papered oft with the finest paper or pumice-stone and 
water. What is left in the pores very effectually holds 
down the grain. 

Pumice-stone is one of the most useful of the polish- 
ing materials, whether for furniture in the white or for 
the reduction of a painted coat. Be careful when so 



278 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

lecting, to have it, if in the stone, of a uniform quality, 
if in powder, free from grit. On raw surfaces it is al- 
ways used in combination with water. It may, if needed, 
be readily cut to shape, so that a molding may be pum- 
iced almost as easily as a. flat surface. For this 
work the stone is almost always used, and as the water 
causes a rise of the grain, the work is allowed to dry, 
and where oil does not damage subsequent coats of color, 
the finishing touches are done with oil and pumice- 
stone, after the water has dried out. With oil the work 
of polishing a surface with pumice stone is much slower 
than water. On varnished or painted surfaces pumice- 
stone is used with water or oil, in the stone or in pow- 
der, to cut down the surface. With water it makes a 
hright finish on rubbing varnish, and with oil a dead 
or matt finish. 

KOTTEN STONE 

is used mainly in powder. It is a finer material than 
pumice-stone, and is employed generally after the lat- 
ter, to bring the surface nearer to a state of absolute 
smoothness. It is used in combination with water or 
oil, like powdered pumice-stone, and with the same pur- 
pose. 

Powdered starch is used after '^ oiling off " very fine 
work, partly with a view to polishing, and partly with 
the intention of absorbing the oil used. 

All other polishes, excepting perhaps fine brick aust 
for turned mahogany, may be dispensed with, for with 
the above the workman has all he needs. 

One caution must, however, always be observed. If 
a coarse material is to be followed by a finer one, all 
particles of the former must be wiped o2 or there will 
be a painful scratch. 

Turners find that generally the shavings of their 
work give sufficient polish to their work — that is 
mahogany shavings for a mahogany job, and so on. 
This does not affect the color of the wood. To highten 
the color of a poor piece of mahogany, they will use 
brick dust or powdered red chalk. The latter is also 
sometimes used on rosewood. But in general the 
dhavings answer the purpose fully. German workmen 



THE HOME MECHANIC. ^tS 

9ome!;imes use shave-grass. Also powdered cuttle-fish 
bone. But there is no special advantage connected with 
either of them. 

PUTTYING. 

The qualities of good patty are that it should not 
shrink after it is put in; that it should not *'fly" 
from the place in which it is put, and that it should 
bear cutting down without rubbing up, when pumice- 
stone or sand-paper goes over it, and that it should 
not dry too slowly. Workmen have their prefer- 
ences, and careful workmen like to make their own, 
so as to be sure of the ingredients. It should be ground 
like paint on a stone devoted to this purpose only. We 
give the following formulas : 

General Use. — White lead (keg) and sifted whit- 
ing with sufficient japan to make it work. 

Quick Dryer. — White lead (dry) in rubbing var- 
nish ; bears the pumice stone well. 

Quick and Hard. — (Under colors or in colored 
wood.) Umber and white lead, equal parts m japan. 
If the wood is rather red than brown use red lead in- 
stead of umber. 

Smooth Putty. — (For use in dark wood, in places 
hard to reach; or where the fit is slightly defective, in 
curved parts, &c.) Lampblack, one-third; dry white lead, 
two-thirds ; mixed in linseed oil. Where the natural 
color of the wood is to be preserved, holes may be put- 
tied with the sawdust of the wood mixed with mod- 
erately thick light-colored glue. It will dry hard and 
bear the sand-paper well, and carries a coat of any 
finish as well as the wood itself. 

Two parts beeswax, 1 part black rosin with sifted um- 
ber or Venetian red, to give the color of the wood, is used 
to fill cracks in mahogany. It takes French polish oi 
varnish. Shellac melted into a crack or hole by the 
aid of hot wire is perfect and takes any finish. 

Lampblack is greasy as purchased, and a slow drier ; 
it may be freed from its grease by putting in it a 
saucer, pouring alcohol over, and setting it a-tire. Let 



280 THfi HOME MECHANIC. 

it burn until it burns out. This makes lampblack avail- 
able in many cases in which its ordinary greasy condi- 
tion would render it useless. 

No2^-Shrinking — For Dark Wood.— Mix whiting, 
Indian red and lampblack in equal parts with carriage 
varnish, adding a small piece of beeswax to the putty ; 
heat the same and pound it with a mallet until thoroughly 
amalgated. 

Hard Putty, Quick Drier, Stan^ds Pumice-stone. 
— Whiting and w. lead 3 parts each : litharge 1 part. Mix 
in japan and add a little boiled oil. 

Puttying should be done after the first or priming coat 
in painted or varnished work. See that sunken nails and 
screw heads get their due share of this first coat — other- 
wise the putty will either fly or shrink. The putty 
knife should be large enough to need only one applica- 
tion when puttying. It is advisable to have several sizes 
in the shop. 

GLUE. 

Glue is considered by many to be stronger if a little 
chalk is mixed with it. Dealers take advantage of this 
and mix the chalk with it when manufacturing it; they 
thus obtain the price of glue for a commodity worth 
about three cents per pound. China clay is also one of 
the adulterants of white glue. Others prefer to chalk a 
joint before glueing it — as mixing chalk with glue makes 
it apt to clog. Glue should run freely when about to be 
used — and should be as hot as possible. If glue chills 
too quick — an ounce of loaf sugar to a pound of glue is 
a remedy. 

Sheet glue, to be prepared, should be cracked up to a 
convenient size for the pot, covered with water five to 
ten minutes; the water then poured off, and the glue 
allowed to rest a few minutes to absorb the water on the 
surface. (The object of this is to have it all melt about 
the same time.) It should then be put into the usual 
glue pot with very little additiional water until melted. 
If not thin enough, water may then be added. City 
mechanics, however, prefer the ground gUie, which can 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 281 

be obtained at supply shops. This is quickly prepai*ed, 
water and all being put into the pot at once. 

The oftener glue is melted — if not scorched — the bet- 
ter it is ; if scorched, it is better thrown away. 

TO PREVENT GLUE FROM STICKING TO THE SIDES OF POTS. 

A few holes bored in a glue pot m a horizontal line, 
near the rim, will allow steam from the boiler to enter 
it, and thus prevent the glue from solidifying on the 
side. The holes need not be bored all round the pot, as 
it is handy to be able to pour glue out of one side with- 
out wasting it. 

If an extra strong joint is required between two large 
surfaces, a sheet of the thinnest muslin, or paper, glued 
between the two will answer the purpose. 

Glue boiled in skim milk is said to resist water. Pro- 
portions: 1 pound glue ; 2 quarts milk. 

LIQUID GLUE. 

For small jobs, 2 pounds best glue dissolved in the 
usual way in one quart water, and 7 ounces nitric acid 
added, kept corked. 

Another. — Good glue, dissolved in good cider vinegar. 
Keep corked. 

Another. — Good glue, dissolved in ether, should be 
kept fluid, even if closely corked. Good for immediate 
use. • 

WATER-PROOF GLUE. 

Pure (unvulcanized) rubber, cut small, 15 grains; 
chloroform, 2 ounces powdered gum mastic, \ ounce. 
For small fine work. Cork close. 

Another for coarse work, — Glue melted as usual, 1 
quart; boiled linseed oil, 1 pint; litharge, 2 ounces 
mix well. 

Another. — Glue melted as usual mixed with boiled oil 
to one-fourth of its weight, and enough Grafton or 
Prince's paint, umber or red ochre, to allow it to work 
freely. 

Another. — Air-slacked lime 2 ounces, mixed with ^ 
ounces linseed oil, boiled to a sirup. Pour out to cool op 



282 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

any metallic or smooth stone surface. Will harden in this 
way and keep any length of time. Warm like ordinary 
glue when needed. 

GLUE FOR INLAYING BRASS. 

To a pint of common glue add two tablespoonsful of 
tinely-powdered resin, and the like quantity of washed 
rouge-powder. Incorporate the whole well; it will hold 
the metal much better than plain glue. 

Strong glue for inlaying is made by, first melting in 
the usual way, the best brown glue and then adding a 
solution of 1-2 ounce isinglass in 1-2 gill best vinegar. 

VARNISHING. 

The varnishing room must be free from currents of 
air, dust, damp, and the smell of stables. The dust 
mischief is well understood — that of damp not so well 
—yet the presence of unusual moisture in the air will 
cause the, varnish to cloud, and the ammonia arising 
from the smell of stables will quickly affect the varnish, 
as the gums are soluble in ammonia, which is always 
largely present in the vapor arising from stables. The 
rarnishing room should be swept when there is no work 
with a fresh coat of varnish in it, with a long-handled 
brush instead of a broom, moderately moist sawdust 
being scattered over the floor, with a long easy slow 
motion, As much of the place as can be conveniently 
reached should from time to time be wiped with any old 
soft cloth, such as a towel. Where work is removed 
from the varnishing room to dry, the sweeping can be 
done in the evening to advantage. 

The temperature of the varnishing room should be 
not less than 70 degrees, and t2 degrees Farenheit is 
still better, and it should be kept evenly so. Currents 
of air and sudden drops in temperature will cause poor 
work. Varnish brushes should be kept in the varnish 
which they are used for. This may be accomplished in 
several ways, A good plan is to have an air-tight can 
in which the varnish pot with the brush, plunged up to 
the wires into the varnish, may be set. This obviates 
the use of oil as a cover for tko varnish. In the ordi- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 283 

liary way the brush is plunged in varnish, it is true, but 
as the surface is covered with oil to prevent the varnish 
from " skinning^ over, " the brush in being withdrawn 
takes up some of the oil. This takes time to rub out — 
and as it can never he entirely done — it always reduces 
the quality of the work more or less. The brush should 
not stand on its ends in the pot, but should be sus- 
pended by a wire running through its handle and laid 
across the top of the varnish can. Another method of 
preserving the varnish brush in good condition is-the 
invention of Mr. W. H. Stewart^ Orion, Wis. He 
speaks of it as follows in that excellent periodical. The 
Hub, of March, 1875: 

"I prepared a brush-holder, which I describe below, 
put the brush in, and filled the holder full of varnish; 
then set holder in a can of raw linseed-oil, just deep 
enough to allow the oil to flow over the varnish, and 
about one-fourth inch deep, to prevent the varnish 
from drying out or getting thick and heavy. The oil 
being lighter will not mix with the varnish enough to 
reach and penetrate the brush. When I am ready to 
use the brush, I carefully lift the holder out of the oil- 
can or jar, thus allowing the oil to flow off from over 
the varnish in the holder; then lift the brush out of the 
holder, wipe out what varnish there is in it, and I am 
ready to proceed immediately. 1 can thus take out my 
brush, and be working successfully in less than two 
minutes, and I find the brush just as I left it. I can 
leave it for any length of time, and in cold or hot 
weather all the same. I choose to employ for my oil- 
dish a glass jar, with large open top, covered with a tin 
cap (such as grocers keep candies in), and I have it tall 
enough to take in the brush, handle and all, and allow 
the cap to go on. Then all U safe from dust, and it is 
very convenient to see through the glass, and examine 
the condition of things in the jar without lifting the 
cap. The brush-holder is made of a strip of tin about 
an inch wider than the brush, turned up at the bottom 
end, so as to form a cup deep enough to take the brush 
in, up to about midway of the binding, and not let the 
hairs reach the bottom of the cup. Let the tin extend 
high enough on the back to reach the top end of the brush- 



284 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



handle, and cut a slotiu the tin toward the top of th« 
brush-handle, as in small cut. Dotted lines rep- 
resent the up-right tin back ; a the pointed tin formed 
by cutting; turn up a, throwing out the point, and bore 
% hole through the brush-handle, and hang brush on the 
tin point, a. That will keep the brush at all times just 
deep enough in the cup of varnish, and brush and 
holder can be handled at any time without disturbing 
the brush. " 

See drawing of the complete apparatus. 

•A represents the glass jar; B tin cap; c c brush-holder; 
d brush;/ tin point, on which hangs the brush. Dotted 
line H shows the top surface of the oil in the jar; o o 
the top surface of varnish in holder; k top of binding of 
brush, and L the hairs of brush." 





This is a very sensible method of keeping the varnish 
brush, and conquers the oil difficulty entirely. It was 
invented for the use of coach-painters, but will answer 
for cabinet-makers as well. 

If varnish does not flow freely it should never be 
thivned by adding anything to it; it should be warmed. 



* ITHE HOME MECHANIC. 285 

Varnish brushes are now made so good by all fii st class 
brush makers, that it is unnecessary to speak of them 
in detail. In varnisliing the strokes should be as long as 
convenient with an even bearing, the brush moderately 
full and the work done as quickly as possible consistent 
with good workmanship. If a coat of varnish is to 
be followed by another it is always advisable to give it 
as light rubbing of pumice-stone and water, if only for 
the sake of making the next coat lie well. 

Some further information as to varnishes will be found 
under the general head of Finishing. 

DAEKENING. 

It is frequently desirable to deepen the color of a part 
of a piece of furniture to match with the rest. This is 
more particularly the .case when a piece of old mahog- 
any/ oak or walnut furniture has been repaired. 

1. A simple lime whitewash is generally the most ef- 
fective for this purpose. It is laid on with a brush or 
rag, and its effect watched. Wipe off the lime as soon 
as the desired depth of color is obtained. 

2. Soda, potash, or ammonia, dissolved in water or 
in alcohol, produce the same effect. Ammonia in alcohol, 
is quicker than when dissolved in water. What is called 
an oak stain is made by adding to a quart of water 2 
ounces each of potash and pearlash This is a very good 
stain, but should be used carefully, as it blisters the 
hands and softens brushes. It should be corked up. A 
lighter stain may be made by adding more water. 

3. Bi-chromate of potash is a very handy and good 
darkener, and should be kept on hand of different de- 
grees of strength, as for instance, one bottle with the 
proportion of an ounce bi-chromate to a pint of water; 
another with an ounce to a quart, and still another with 
an ounce to a quart and a pint. It will be found very 
useful where much matching is required; as is also 

4. Permanganate of Potash, which is used in the same 
way, and should also be kept on hand in different 
strengths. This is specially useful on cherry, which it 
sweetons beautifully. 

6. The vapor of ammonia (hai'tshorn) is also a very 



286 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

effective daikener, esi)ecially applicable to new oak 
which it is desirable to match with old wood. The pro- 
cess is to place the work in a box or small room, ex- 
cluding the outside air by papering all joints of windows, 
doors, &c. Before shutting the door place a large pot 
of liquid ammonia inside, taking care the furniture does 
not touch the walls, and the color will be light or dark, 
according i o the length of time and strength of ammo- 
nia — which should be very strong; a day is usually 
sufficient for the fumes to darken the wood. 

The liquid ammonia may be made by dissolving the 
ordinary carbonate, as bought of the druggist, in water 
or alcohol. This is rather costly, but amateurs who are 
very particular about their work, do not always mind 
that item. 

6. A decoction of tobacco stems will give a good 
brown — as will also coffee, and both may be made as 
light as desired. Either, if used, should be applied 
hot. 

7. Oak can be readily darkened by a solution of green 
vitriol (sulphate of iron). It must be used carefully, or 
it will produce a greater effect than is desirable. The 
color produced in this runs toward black instead of 
brown. 

8. Raw linseed oil, colored with Brazilwood dust (red 
oil), is used to darken and sweeten mahoghany and rose- 
wood. The oil is poured over the dust, which gradu- 
ally yields some of its color to the oil. Some workmen 
make a red oil by simmering annatto in linseed oil (raw) 
for a day. It makes rather a weaker color than Brazil- 
wood. For rosewood alone some use linseed oil colored 
with logwood dust, like red oil. Linseed oil by itself is 
a darkener. 

9. Nitric acid in solution answers as a darkener. The 
proportions may vary from 1 ounce acid and a pint of 
water to 4 ounces acid and a pint of water, according to 
the depth of color required. It gives a mahogany red 
or brown color to light colored woods and deepens the 
color of mahogany itself. It is a favorite with French 
workmen. 

10. Lunar caustic (nitrate of silver) serves as a dark- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 287 

ener of dark woods. Dissolve in water, a half ounce in 
a pint of water, give a light wipe with sponge, and ex- 
pose to the sun till dry and dark. The color gi^en is 
brown, approaching black, and the effect must be 
watched or it will be too strong. 

11. A decoction of walnut shells will deepen new oak 
to any shade from brown up to almost black. It will 
bring up sap walnut to harmonize with deeper colored 
wood; acts well on ash and most light colored woods, 
soft or hard. 

12. An artichoke (the tuber or root), cut in half and 
rubbed upon any of the hard-woods, when new, will 
darken them. It is said to give a good oak color to 
pine. 

13. Apply soft soap in its natural condition. This is 
merely a slower way of applying potash. 

PKEPAEATIOK OF THE WOOD. 

Previous to the application of any of these darkeners. * 
the work should be finished up sharp and clean. In 
most cases it will be required that the work should have 
a light sand-papering with very fine or worn sand-paper 
between the several operations — for it will often require 
a repetition of the application, especially on soft woods, 
of the darkener to produce the required effect. Wood 
darkened or improved by these processes shows better 
under a wax (dissolved in turpentine) or oil finish than 
under varnish. Linseed oil, (raw, as before said, ) indeed, 
or beeswax in turpentine — is oftentimes a sufficient dark- 
ener itself. Either of these gives a fine, rich old ap- 
pearance to all new wood. (See Finishes. ) 

14. There are occasions when, as in oak, ash, or walnut 
sap, the" parts that are too light do not respond nicely 
to any of the above processes. In such a case the best 
plan is to make a thin solution or paint of raw umber 
and turpentine, and to give the light part a thin coat 
thereof. If the color does not match use a pinch of rose 
pink, Vandyke brown, or burnt umber, according to the 
necessities of the case. 

15. A very thin solution of asphaltum in turpentine 
will ho-ve the same effect, only it looks raw and shows 



288 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

the trick of the trade unless varnish is to follow as a 
finishing coat. To modify this solution to suit wood 
with a reddish undertone, it may be mixed with a stain 
or dye made by pouring alcohol over finely ground red 
Sanders (sandal wood. ) 

BLEACHING. 

It is sometimes more feasible to bleach a small part 
of a job, especially in repairing, than to darken a larger 
portion of the work. This can be effected by brushing 
over the wood a solution composed of one ounce oxalic 
acid in a pint of water, letting it remain a few moments 
and then wiping dry. The operation may be repeated 
if necessary. A few drops of nitric ether, or a quarter 
of an ounce of tartaric acid will assist the operation; 
or a hot solution of tartaric may be used alone. Lemon 
jui^e will also whiten most woods. Cut the lemon in 
half and rub the cut face upon the wood. When the 
.bleaching has been effected and the work is dry give a 
thin coat of shellac or French polish, as the light and 
air acting upon the bare wood will bring back the orig- 
inal color. If the wood obstinately resists bleaching it 
may be lightened by mixing a little fine bismuth white, 
flake white or ball white (the cleansing balls sold by 
druggists) with the shellac, and give it a thin coat. This 
whitens, but it also somewhat deadens or obscures the 
grain and is therefore not so good as the bleaching 
method. 

STAINS. 

SIZE STAIITS. 

These are colors fixed by the aid of glue in the solu- 
tion. They are employed for the purpose of giving a 
color to cheap work in soft woods, such as chairs, 
bedsteads and common tables, ordinary bookcases, 
store fixtures, &c., &c. The colors usually wanted are 
walnut, mahoghany or cherry color ; though oak is oc- 
casionally sought for, and even a rosewood. 

FOE MAHOGHANY. 

16. Dissolve 1 pound of glue in a gallon of water, 
^n4 stir in 1-2 pound Venetian red, and 1-4 pound clirome 



THE HOME MECHANIC. j889 

yellow, or yellow oclire. Darken with the red and lighten 
with yellow, as desired. If the Venetian red does not 
give a sufficiently dark look put in a pinch of lamp- 
black. Apply hot. 

OAK. 

17. In a gallon of glue size (as above) put 3-4 pound 
powdered burnt umber. Lighten with yellow (chrome or 
ochre), if need be. Hot. 

EOSEWOOD. 

18. Same as mahoghany, omitting the yellow, and using 
3-4 pound Venetian red (or more), instead of 1-2 pound. 
Give one coat of this and then add lampblack, one 
pinch, or more, to the color ; with the latter put in the 
figure or dark parts of the rosewood. 

WALNUT. 

19. As oak, with no yellow. 

All these colors should be applied hot with a sponge 
or rag — the superfluous color immediately wiped off. 
When dry, the surface should be very lightly rubbed 
with boiled oil, and turpentine. After this it may be 
finished in any manner desired. The colors and their 
mixing must be left very much to the judgment and ex- 
perience of the workman, and as on all other occasions 
of darkening or staining, a bit of the wood to be operated 
upon should be tried first to ascertain the effect. 

FRENCH POLISH STAINS. 

20. Small work is often colored simply by mixing 
French Polish with the desired pigment, and finishing 
with it, as intimated in the final paragraph on Bleaching. 
The effect of this is generally good in any color but white. 
For colors we may use vegetable black or drop black, 
rermillion, Dragon's Blood, (a gum), ultramarine, 
soluble blue, Brunswick Green, chromate of lead, (yel- 
low), bichromate of lead (orange)^ burnt umber. &c., in 
quantities suitable to produce the effect. The polish is 
applied in the manner that will be pointed out in our 
chapter on French Polishing. 



290 THE HOME MECHAiriC. 



WATER AND ALCOHOLIC STAINS. 

The stains generally relied upon are really dyes or 
inks, made by boiling certain coloring matters in water, 
or dissolving them in water or alcohol. They are best 
applied hot, and the effects watched. If the first result, 
after dying, is too weak, repeat the application, and so 
on, until the proper result is accomplished, always bear- 
ing in mind to try a smooth stout chip of the wood 
first. 

When the wood to be stained is spongy or cross- 
grained, a thin layer of shellac varnish should be put on, 
and when dry removed by sand-papering. Fine work, 
slightly oiled and slightly rubbed with fine sand-paper, 
takes the stain more uniformly and smoothly. If a flat 
hog-hair tool is used for applying the stain, passing a 
badger-hair softener, gently and lightly over it when ap- 
plied, it will improve its effect. 

A preparatory wash with a solution of caustic soda, 
should also be given — and nicely dried oat before ap- 
plying the stain (see Dyeing). For the purpose of fixing 
or intensifying the colors, an assistant solution called a 
MOEDANT is used in staining or dyeing woods. This is 
a solution of tin made in various ways — the easiest 
and neatest being the first method named below. 

TIN SOLUTION. (FOR RED COLORS ONLY). 

^1. Dissolve half a pound of tin crystals (chloride of 
tin) in a pint of water and keep for use. A drop or two is 
sufficient for an ordinary small job. Another way of 
making the tin solution : slowly drop into 1 ounce of 
ordinary nitric acid, half a teaspoonf ul of muriatic acid, 
and then put into the mixture as much grain tin or 
scrapings of pure tin (either scraped from a bar of tin or 
bought of a druggist who sells dye-stuffs, or from a dealer 
in watchmaker's materials), as it will dissolve. When 
the tin is dissolved add 2 ounces of water, or mix the 
whole at once and put away in a bottle tightly corked. 
It will be ready for use in two or three days; another 
form is nitric acid 8 parts, salammoniac 1 part, and tin 
I part. When the tin is dissolved, add 2 parts water. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 291 

One more form may be added : Nitric acid, 8 ounces; 
common salt, 1 ounce; tin (pure). 1 ounce. 

22. For blue colors there is used as a mordant either 
alum, acetate of alumina or liquor of ammonia, to which 
a little sulphate of iron is added. 

Alum is merely dissolved and used in that state, some- 
times previous to the application of the dye and some- 
times in the stain. Alum solution also works very well 
as a mordant for red stains made of Brazil wood. 
Acetate of alumina is made by adding a solution of 
alum 4 parts in enough warm water to dissolve it, to 3 
parts sugar of lead, similarly, dissolved. The liquor 
ammonia may be purchased directly of the druggist, 
and one oz, sulphate of iron (green copperas) added to 
every 12 ounces of the liquo]*for a mordant. Or, it may 
be home-made by slacking a 1-2 pound of good lime in a 
quart of water, adding 4 ounces sal ammoniac, and 1 
ounce sulphate of iron, and then allowing the whole to 
settle in a warm situation. 

23. Iron solution. This consists of sulphate of iron 
(green copperas) dissolved in hot water. The quantity 
is regulated by what the water will dissolve without a 
sediment. It is used in combination with gall nuts and 
logwood in the production of a black color. Another 
and very effective '' iron solution " may be made of clean 
iron filings put into vinegar, placed in a warm position, 
and occasionally shaken. This produces an *^iron 
liquor " which can be made stronger or weaker by the 
addition of more vinegar, and is used like the solution 
first described. 

BED. 

24. One pound Brazil wood in fine chips-, 1 gallon oi 
water, 1 ounce pearl ash. Boil 3 hours, and paint 
the work with it. Then immediately apply a solution 
of 2 ounces alum in 1 quart hot water. 

25. The same as above adding 10 drops of tin solution 
(No. 21) to the second mixture. 

26. A solution of archil in hot water, allowed to grow 
cold, and then applied, gives a gooa color for cheap 
work. The color is nor, very durable unless covered 
with French Polish or varnish. Definite quantities can 



292 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

hardly be given for archil — it varies in strength, and 
the workman must depend upon his eye and experiment 
with a spare piece of wood for a knowledge of effects. 

We have spoken of using it cold. This is only for 
cheap work. For a better color it should be used hot. 
Archil may be made to produce almost any color between 
scarlet and purple. The solution of tin (21) turns the col- 
or more toward scarlet. Milk of lime, or potash lye, dark- 
ens it. By brushing over the work first with the tin 
solution and then a weak solution of potash, and finally 
putting on the archil stain, a handsome crimson is pro- 
duced. 

27. A handsome red can also be obtained by the use of 
the aniline red (fuchsine) in alcohol. The quantity 
cannot be definitely given, as every different piece of 
wood will give a different result. Very little experi- 
ment, however, will show the quantity needed. Toys, 
broom handles, &c., are colored with this, as it is quickly 
prepared — and a little color goes a great way. But this 
color fades in the light. 

28. Two ounces extract logwood (or 1 pound logwood 
boiled in 4 quarts of water for 2 hours) and ten drops 
of tin solution added. 

29. Quarter pound Brazil wood, 1 quart whiskey (hot), 
for cheap stains of pine tables, &c. 

DEEP COCHINEAL RED AND SCAELET. 

30. Boil 4 ounces Cochineal in 1 quart of water 3 hours. 
Brush the liquid upon the wood hot. Give a second 
coat as soon as the first is dry, and immediately there- 
after apply a liquid composed of 1 ounce tartaric acid, 
2 ounces tin solution, 1 quart water. 

31. The same as 30 for a bright scarlet, but the propor- 
tion of cochineal is made one-half of the above. 

32. A quick and good but somewhat expensive red, is 
obtained from carmine 1 ounce, liquor ammoniac 2 
ounces, and 1 quart water. 

ROSE COLOR. 

33. One quarter ounce coralline (an aniline color) 
dissolved in boiling water, 2 quarts, to which add 1-8 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 293 

ounce of caustic soda, and 1-2 of the volume of the 
whole by measure of silicate of soda. Regulate the 
depth of the color by increasing or diminishing the 
coralline. 

The intensity of the scarlet may be increased by boil- 
ing with the other ingredients 3 ounces oak bark. 

YELLOW. 

34. Light yellow for backs and shelves of libraries, 
desks, &c., where it is considered desirable, to give the 
soft white wood usually employed, a color. A solution 
of 1 part turmeric; 30 parts water (hot), is used to give 
the shade desired. Whisky, instead of water, will do. 
Turmeric can be made to give quite a red-yellow or 
orange by increasing the proportion of tlie dyes. 
French cabinet makers, to keep the worms out of 
soft wood shelves, backs of book-cases, and drawers, 
apply a decoction of wormwood. A weak solution of 
aloes will serve the purpose of yellowing the wood and 
of keeping worms out also. The only reason for giving 
a yellow tone to the wood in such cases is to make it 
look different from the raw natural wood, but it has 
probably risen from the original use of an anti-worm 
wash. 

LEMON YELLOW. 

35. One-half pound saffron, 1-2 pound French berries, 
6 quarts water. Boil 3 hours and add 1-3 ounce tartaric 
acid, 2-5 ounce alum. Strain and keep in closely corked 
vessel. 

36. One pound barberry root, 5 quarts water. Boil 
in tin or earthenware (not iron) two hours, and add 1 
ounce alifm. 

37. One part aniline yellow, 30 parts alcohol. By the 
addition of fuchsine or coralline any desired depth may 
be given to this yellow color. Aniline colors go very 
far, but fade easily in the light, even under varnish. 

38. One ounce picric acid; 1-2 ounce ammonia liquor; 2 
quarts water. 

39. One part sugar of lead; 10 parts water. Brush 
over the wood with this solution, and then give it a coat 



294 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

of the following: 1 part bi-chromate potash; 20 parts 
water. 

40. One part yellow chromate of potash; IGO parts 
water, hot. 

41 . One pound Persian berries ; one gallon water. 
Boil three hours. Apply hot, and afterwards tin solu- 
tion, 10 drops in 1-2 pint of water. 

GREEN. 

42. Four ounces of Verdigris; 1-2 ounce sap green; 1-2 
ounce Indigo ; 3 pints vinegar (wine or cider yinegar). 
Heat to the boiling point. Apply hot. Sap green may 
be left out, unless absolutely needed to make the shade 
of color required. It is apt to fade or turn brown. 

43. Obtaining first a blue (which see), and then a yel- 
low upon it produces a fair green if carefully done. 

44. One part verdigris, 1 sulphate of iron, powdered, 
4 parts wine vinegar, 24 parts water. Boil the whole 
for three hours. 

45. One part salammoniac, 3 parts verdigris, 6 parts 
good vinegar. Eub it up in a mortar, add 10 to 15 parts 
good wine or cider vinegar, or whisky. Allow it to re- 
main in a warm place three or four days, when it will 
be ready to use. 

46. One part aniline green, 10 to 12 parts alcohol. 
Gives almost any shade of bright green desired, and is 
the handiest of all to use. 

BLUE. 

47. One pound sulphuric acid, 1-4 pound best indigo, 
Pound the indigo tolerably fine and put gradually into 
a clean glass jar with the acid, so as to avoid accident. 
The jar should be large enough to contain twice the 
quantity actually put into it. Keep this soluUe indigo 
on hand; when wanted, use diluted with from 3 to 6 
times its bulk of water. It is the best, but does not 
always give the color required. Indigo blue looks a lit- 
tle unnatural in wood. 

48. Brush over the work with a solution of half rain 
or spring water, filtered, and half the liquor ammoniac 
mordant spoken of previously (22), then rinse off with 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 295 

clean water, then paint it over with a decoction of log- 
wood 1 pound boiled in 8 quarts of water two hours. 

49. IJse for a mordsint the acetate of alumina, (22) 
which first paint over the wood and follow it with a 
wash of *logwood decoction and made as (48.) 

60. Boil one pound of logwood in a pint of liquor 
ammonia with 1-4 ounce of sulphate of iron and two 
quarts of water. Increase the logwood if not dark 
enough. Add water if too dark. Every shade of blue 
can be thus mede. Apply hot. 

51. In any quantity of nitric acid dissolve pure cop- 
per, purchasable at painters' supply houses, or dealers 
in watchmakers' materials, as much as the acid will take 
without precipitation. Brush over the work with this. 
Then follow by brushing over the work with a solution 
composed of water, 1 pint; and pearlash, 2 ounces. 

52. One part sugar of lead, 4 parts of alum. Dis- 
solve separately in water and then mix. Add 1-2 ounce 
carbonate of soda. Allow it to stand 10 hours, and pour 
off the clear part. Use it in combination with the 
following : 1 ounce indigo carmine, 2 quarts water. 
Brush over the work with the sugar of lead and alum-wa- 
ter first, then with the indigo carmine fluid. The sugar of 
lead and alum-water should show a density by Baume's 
Hydrometer of one degree. 

53. Analine blue mixes easily with alcohol or water, 
and any shade can be given with it. Like aU the 
others, it is a very fugitive color. 

PUKPLE AOT) VIOLET. 

64. One pound of logwood, i pound Brazil wood, 
1-2 gallon of water. Boil three hours and apply hot. 
After which apply solution made by dissolving 6 ounces 
pearlash, 2 ounces alum, in 1-2 gallon of water. Repeat 
until the proper color is obtained. Dilate the mixtures 
if only a violet is wanted. 

55. The same as above, omitting the Brazil wood, 
which gives a red shade. 

56. One pound of logwood, 1-2 gallon of water, 10 

*The extract of logwood, which is much more convenient to handle, will an* 
Bwer ; 3 ounces extract are about as Btroug as one pound of the chips. 



296 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

drops tin solulion (21). Then give a coat of the indigo 
blue (47). 

57. One part analine violet, 25 parts alcohol. Expen- 
sive and fugitive, but very bright and unnatural. This 
is generally applied after a good sponging off with 
strong, soapy water (white Castile soap is preferred, 
because of its freedom from iron), or a solution made 
of 1 ounce dried soda, 1 ounce olive oil, 3 pints of water, 
which mixture is boiled until it results in a strong, 
soapy fluid. 

58. A strong extract of archil mixed with indigo (47) 
will give a purple or violet, as may be desired, according 
to the strength of the mixture. 

LILAC. 

59. Archil tolerably strong will produce a fair lilac, 

BEOWK 

60. One ounce sulphate of magnesia, 1 ounce perman- 
ganate of potash, hot water to shade required. 

61. Any of the blacks, diluted (see Black) ; or coffee, 
tobacco water, &c., (see Darkeners.) 

62. One ounce catechu, 1 quart water (hot) ; brush 
this over the work, and follow with 1 ounce bi-chromate 
of potash in 1 quart of water. By varying the proportions 
of catechu or bi-chromate the shades may be deepened 
or lightened. 

63. One ounce fustic, 1 quart of water ; boil and wash 
the wood ; follow with (if not dark enough) 1 ounce 
sulphate of iron in 1 quart of water. 

SILVER GRAY. 

64. This is an imperfect black, and may be obtained 
by simply washing the wood with a solution of 1 1-2 
ounces sulphate iron, copperas, or green vitriol; 2 quarts 
of water; this, with the tannin m the wood will generally 
make die color decided enough. If it does not, follow 
with a weak solution of gall nuts 1 ounce, in a quart of 
water, or of logwood and gall nuts, each one ounce, in 
2 quarts of water. Usually, all the desired effect can 
be obtained by the first of these. 



\ THE HOME MECHANIC. 297 

BLACK. 

65. One pound logwood, 2 quarts of water. Boil three 
hours, or use 3 ounces extract of logwood, with same 
quantity of water. Apply hot. When dry, brush over 
with hot solution made of 2 ounces sulphate of iron, 
1 quart of water. Eepeat, if not black enough, as soon 
as dry. 

66. The same as No. 65, except adding 1 ounce gall- 
nuts (powder) to the second solution. 

67. One pound logwood, 2 ounces pearlash; 4 quarts of 
water. Boil as before, and apply hot, as a second coat; 
and as a third coat apply a solution of 1 ounce verdigris 
(acetate of copper), 1 ounce copperas (sulphate of iron), 
in a quart of boiling vinegar. This gives a rich black — 
but there is no reason to suppose that this elaborate pro- 
cess gives any better color than No. 65. 

68. One pound logwood extract; 5 quarts water. Tie 
the extract into a muslin rag, and boil two hours in the 
water. Then take out the rag and color, and add to the 
mixture 1-2 an ounce of common washing soda (the 
carbonate), roasted on a shovel. Crush it and dis- 
solve it in the dye. Brush this over the wood with 
sponge or otherwise, as usual, hot. Allow it to dry, and 
then go over the work with a solution of 1 ounce bi- 
chromate of potash; 1 pint of hot water. Apply hot. 
The effect of the first mixture is a reddish brown; of 
the last a blue-black. If desirable, the Mue appearance 
is increased by lessening the quantity of bi-chromate. 
When the wood becomes dry, after the last application, 
it sometimes gets a dusty or flowery look on the sur:?ace. 
This disappears on being rubbed off with a little linseed 
oil, or wax finish. 

69. Any oi the inks will answer for quite small jobs 
— and it is cheaper to use them than to make the above 
preparations — though it would be expensive on a larger 
scale — a very moderate -sized piece of soft wood having a 
capacity for absorption, quite surprising to those un- 
acquainted with the subject. Most inks in use are com- 
binations of gall nuts and sulphate of iron— oi of log- 
wood, gall nuts, sulphate of iron and bi-chromate of 



298 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

potash. The small amount of gum arable which they 
generally contain is no hindrance to their coloring. 

70. One part aniline black, 20 parts alcohol. 

71. Where conveniently accessible, walnut shells in 
combination with logwood or its extract, will make a 
cheap black stain. To avail yourself of them, take : 1 

Sound logwood or 3 ounces extract, 1 pound walnut 
nils, 4 quarts water, boil 2 hours, add a pint of strong 
cider vinegar and 1 ounce sulphate of iron, and boil for 
another hour and apply hot to the wood. Kepeat if not 
dark enough the first time. 

72. 1 ounce logwood extract, 1 dram yellow chro- 
mate of potash, 1 quart water (boiling), make a purple 
black. Nitrate of iron is used by some in preference to 
the sulphate. We know of no reason for the preference, 
but the reader may discover one. The same proportion 
is used. 

DYEma 

Dyeing veneers is not so much for the purpose of col- 
oring them throughout, as it is for coloring them before 
they are placed in or on the work, as it is both easier 
and cheaper to perform the work in a vat and in quan- 
ties than to stain each piece as required. 

For this purpose veneers are first soaked in a solution 
of the following proportions : 1 pound chloride of lime, 
2 ounces of soda and 1 gallon of water. Twenty-four 
hours' soaking in this liquid will extract any resinous 
peculiarities which so resist the entrance of the dye, and 
will make the wood soft and leathery, and very receptive 
of the color. Any of the preceding stains will answer, 
though it is obvious that, on a large scale, economy is a 
point that must not be overlooked. The vessels used 
for dyeing should be zinc, copper, brass — except in dye- 
ing black, when the vessel may be iron. 

In the following recipes for dyeing, we go over much 
the same ground, as to means and proportions, as in 
STAINING ; but as there are some points included, also, 
we will not oblige the workman to turn back, but give 
some recipes in full. 



' THE H03IE MECHANIC. 299 

BLACK. 

73. Make a solution of copperas (sulphate of iron) by 
dissolving it in sufficient hot water to cover the veneers; 
put in as much copperas as the water will take with- 
out precipitation; when there is enough copperas in you 
will begin to see it fall to the bottom as a dirty brown 
rust or oxide of iron. Soak the veneers in this solution 
twenty-four hours, then remove them to a bath made by 
boiling 1 pound of logwood or its equivalent in the ex- 
tract (49), for 3 hours in 1 gallon of water. Let it re- 
main an equal length of time ; remove and dry. In 
French workshops they give in addition a soaking for 12 
hours in the solution of nitrate of iron — about 8 ounces 
to the gallon of water. 

The following, 74 and 75, are variations of this for- 
mula, but we will add them, as they will sometimes be 
found useful. 

FINE BLACK. 

74. Put 6 pounds of chip logwood into the copper, with 
as many veneers as it will conveniently hold, without 
pressing too tight ; fill it with water and boil slowly for 
about three hours ; then add 1-2 pound of powdered 
verdigris, 1-2 pound of copperas, and 4 ounces of bruised 
nut-galls ; fill the copper up with boiling vinegar as the 
water evaporates ; let it boil gently two hours each day 
till the wood is dyed through. 

7c.. Procure some liquor from a tanner's pit, or make 
a strong decoction of oak bark, and to every gallon of 
the liquor add 1-2 pound of green copperas, and mix 
them well together ; put the liquor into the copper, and 
make it quite hot, but not to boil; immerse the veneers 
in it and let them remain for an hour; take them out, 
and expose them to the air till it has penetrated its sub- 
stance; then add some logwood to the solution, place 
again in it, and let it simmer for two or three hours; let 
the whole cool gradually, dry the veneers in the shade. 

BEOW23^. 

76. Eight ounces bichromate potash, 2 gallons hot 
water ; leave the veneers 24 hours, and remove to a bath 



300 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

made with 8 ounces catechu or fustic, 2 gallons water ; 
leave the veneers 24 hours and remove. 

BRIGHT RED. 

77. To 3 pounds of genuine Brazil dust add 4 gallons 
of water; put in as many veneers as the liquor will cover; 
boil them for 3 hours; then add 2 ounces of alum and 2 
ounces of nitric acid, and keep it lukewarm until it has 
struck through. 

78. To every pound of' logwood chips add 2 gallons 
of water; put in the veneers, and boil as in the last; 
then add a sufficient quantity of the tin solution; keep 
the whole warm till the color has sufficiently penetrated. 
The logwood chips should be picked from all foreign 
substances, with which it generally abounds, as bark 
and dirt; it is always best when fresh cut, which may 
be known by its appearing of a bright-red color; if stale 
it will look brown, and will not yield so much coloring 
matter. 

79. A vermilion red can be obtained by first dyeing a 
black, and then soaking the veneers in a solution of 
oxalic aciJ, strong and hot, 8 ounces to the gallon of 
water. The oxalic acid neutralizes the oxide of iron, 
and leaves the logwood color. But this is a round-about 
way and not certain — though in experienced hands the 
effect is quite good. 

The aniline colors are cheap, as a little color goes a 
great way — though the color is not a natural one. 

The French method in the use of these is after the 
preparatory soaking in the caustic soda solution, to give 
the veneer a dip into a weak solution of sulphuric 
acid, as a bleacher — drying it, then dipping it into a 
solution of white castile soap and allowing it to remain a 
few moments therein. Any of the aniline reds desired 
may be used for the appropriate color. An ounce of soap 
to a quart of water is the usual proportion. The ordi- 
nary aniline red works well. Care must be taken as to 
the proportions, which may be about 1 part aniliDC color 
to 30 parts water, though it is best to experiment first, as 
results vary with different woods. The aniline colors do 
not work so well without the soap bath. Coralline, an- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 301 

other aniline color (same proportion as above), gives a 
good rose color. A little caustic soda and soluble glass 
are added to produce a good result. Tbe proportions 
are said to be : — 

80. Ooraline, 10 ounces ; Caustic soda, 1 ounce ; sol- 
uble glass, 2 ounces; hot water, 10 quarts. The color 
can be deepened by increasing the quantity of coraline. 

VIOLET. 

A good violet is obtained by soaking the wood in a 
thin soft soap composed of : — 

81. Sweet oil, 1 pint ; caustic soda, 1 pound ; hot 
water, 1 gallon. Mix water and soda first, then add 
the oil, immerse the veneer first in this; then in a bath 
of strong aniline (magenta) red. Another violet is a 
solution of archil with soluble indigo blue. * 

PUKPLE. 

82. To 2 pounds of chip logwood and 1-2 pound of 
Brazil dust add 4 gallons of water, and after putting in 
the veneers boil them for at least three hours; then add 
6 ounces of pearlash and two ounces of alum; let them 
boil for 2 or 3 hours every day, till the color has struck 
through. The Brazil dust is to make the purple of a 
red cast; it may, therefore be omitted, if a deep blueish 
purple is required. 

83. Boil 2 pounds of logwood, either in chips or pow- 
der, in 4 gallons of water with the veneers; after boiling 
till the color is well struck in, add by degrees soluble 
indigo(47), till the purple is of the shade required, which 
may be known by trying it with a piece of paper; let it 
then boil for 1 hour, and keep the liquid in a milk-warm 
state till the color has penetrated the veneer. This 
method, when properly managed, will produce a brilliant 
purple not so likely to fade as the foregoing. 

*Soluble blue (47) can be bought of supply houses. Ordinary laundry blue, 
when in balls or lumps, is soluble blue adulterated 'with starch. This is too weak 
to use as a dye, but there is a hquid blue which is used for the same purpose, 
which serves very weU as a dye for wood. This hquid laundry blue is by some 
mauufacturers made of soluble indigo, by others of soluble Prussian blue. The 
indigo is the best. 



]02 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



BLUE. 



Aniline blue as before, 1 part to 30 of water after the 
usual soap bath or dyes made up in the same proportion 
as stains. See, also, 47, 48 and 49, using the same mor- 
dants. 

LILAC. 

(See Stains). 

SILVEE GRAY. 

84. Expose to the weather in a cast-iron pot of 6 or 8 
gallons, old iron nails, hoops, or other scraps, till cov- 
ered with rust; add 1 gallon of vinegar and two of water; 
boil all well for an hour; have the veneers ready, which 
must be air wood, not too dry; put them in the copper 
used to dye black, and pour the iron liqaor over them; 
add 1 pound of chip logwood, and 2 ounces of bruised 
nut-galls; then boil up another pot of the iron liquor to 
supply the copper with, keeping the veneers coYere(^ 
and boiling 2 hours a day till of the required color. 

85. Expose any quantity of old iron in any conve- 
nient vessel, and from time to time sprinkle them with 
spirits of salt, diluted in four times its quantity of 
water, till they are very thickly covered with rust, then 
to every 6 pounds add a gallon of water, in which has 
been dissolved 2 ounces of salts of tartar; lay the veneers 
in the copper, and cover them with this liquid; let it 
boil for two or three hours till well soaked, then to every 
gallon of liquor add 1-4 pound of green copperas, and 
keep the whole at a moderate temperature till the dye 
has sufficiently penetrated. 

YELLOW. 

86. Reduce 4 pounds of the root of barberry, by sawing, 
to dust, which put in a copper or brass trough; add 4 
ounces of tumeric, and 4 gallons of water, then put in 
as many white holly veneers as the liquor will cover; boil 
them together for 3 hours, often turning them ; when 
cool add 2 ounces of nitric acid, and the dye will strike 
through much sooner. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 303 



BRIGHT YELLOW. 



87. To every gallon of water necessary add 1 pound 
of French berries; boil the veneers in this till the color 
has penetrated; add solution of tin 20 grains (see 21) 
to the infusion of the French berries, and let the veneers 
remain for 2 or 3 hours, and the color will be very 
bright. 

BRIGHT GEEEK-. 

88. Proceed as in either of the above receipts to pro- 
duce a yellow; instead of adding nitric acid or the bright- 
ening liquid, add as much soluble indigo (47) as will 
produce the desired color. 

89. Dissolve 4 ounces of the best verdigris, and sap- 
green and indigo 1-2 ounce each, in three pints of the 
best vinegar; put in the veneers and gently boil till the 
color has penetrated sufficiently. Tlie hue of the green 
may be varied by altering the proportion of the ingre- 
dients; and unless wanted for a particular purpose, leave 
out the sap-green, as it is a vegetable color, very apt to 
change, or turn brown, when exposed to the air. 

IMITATIONS. 

MAHOGANY. 

90. A method used with good effect by many cabinet 
makers is to brush any moderately hard wood, ash, 
apple, pear, beech, with nitric acid one part in water 
ten parts. This is alloAved to dry, and followed by a var- 
nish of alcohol one gill, washing soda 3-4 ounces, and 
dragon's blood 1-4 ounce. The modus operandi is that 
the acid operates as a darkener; and the varnish, which 
is ready colored by the dragon's blood resin, serves as a 
glaze. 

91. Stain the wood, if light-colored, first with an al- 
coholic extract of sandal wood, (red sanders,) and when 
dry sfive it a slight coat of very thin asphaltum varnish. 

92. A good imitation of old mahogany is said to be 
made by dyeing or staining walnut with a strong alco- 
holic extract of red sandal or Brazil wood. As the color 
extracts easily, it can be regulated accordingly. An 



304 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ounce of the wood in dust or fine chips to a half pint of 
alcohol is the usual proportion. The stain should be fil- 
tered before using, and applied with sponge or rag. 

93. Ordinary red chalk (an oxide of iron and clay), is 
powdered and rubbed into the wood. It gives a brown 
mahogany look, and polishes at the same time, and 
hence is a favorite with turners. 

94. Logwood dye, or extract, will make a mahogany 
color. Darken with alum, or brighten with tin solution. 
The dark, or figured, portion of the imitation may be 
made by using a solution of copperas — black stain, or 
asphaltum thinned with turpentine. Asphaltum should 
only be used when the job is to be varnished. 

95. A good imitation is also obtained by making a de- 
coction of 2 pounds madder; 2 ounces logwood; 1 gal- 
lon water. Apply hot, and follow with a wash of pearl- 
ash solution — 2 drams to a quart of water. 

96. Tolerable results — and good ones when the work 
is small, and can be steeped in the mixture, is to im- 
merse the wood to be colored in a solution of 2 ounces of 
dragon's blood in 1 quart of turpentine. The gum takes 
some time to dissolre, and should be prepared in ad- 
vance, in a bottle which should be frequently shaken. 

97. G-rind raw sienna in beer, and then add burnt 
sienna to bring to required color. Apply as a wash ; rub 
off and finish, as required. Cheap, and looks cheap, 
except in very skillful hands. 

98. On cheap, soft wood a fair mahogany imitation is 
obtained by the use of the size color (16). This may be 
given any depth of colored desired, by repetition, two ap- 
plications being generally enough. When dry, rub oS. 
The color may appear dull, but varnishing will bring it 
out very well. In towns remote from the seacoast a 
solution of rosin (common yellow or brown) in borax 
water can be used for a finish to this size color. It is 
rubbed on with a sponge or rag, and the superfluous 
quantity wiped off. Near the coast the salt in the at- 
mosphere keeps this finish sticky, and therefore unfit 
for use. 

99. A crude, quick way to imitate mahogany is the 
following : 1 ounce Vandyke brown, ]£ pound pearlash, 
2 drams dragon's blood, 1 quart boiliug water. The 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 305 

pearlash helps to dissolve the dragon's blood and also 
aids the color. It is washed upon the wood with a 
sporge, and when the first coat is dry, some dabs and 
twists are given with the sponge in imitation of the fig' 
lire of the grain. 

100. Bamboo or cane work can be given a mahogany 
color by the application of a very hot, concentrated so- 
lution of logwood. The work must be quite clean, and 
the crust should be new, or used only for this purpose. 
Two coats of spirit varnish should be applied as a 
finish. Nitric acid, 1 part, to 4 of water, will also color 
bamboo. 

EOSEWOOD. 

Imitations of rosewood are made by first graining a red 
ground. When this is dry put in the figure with a 
darker stain. 

101. Stain the wood first with the logwood, red (28), 
giving two coats ; then put in the dark figure with a 
rough brush, sponge, or pounded end of rattan, or any 
means which you can employ to produce the pattern of 
rosewood. No directions can be given for the drawing 
of the figure; the workman must examine the natural 
wood at all opportunities and endeavor to imitate, and 
closely scan all grainers' imitations. The grainer avails 
himself of every aid that art and nature offords to pro- 
duce his imitations; nothing is too humble for a tool, 
and no method is for him ^^unworthy the art." He will 
work with a bit of chewed stick, an old rag, a worn 
sponge, a rejected chip of leathei', the stub of an old 
brush — anything for the sake of the effect he desires. 

Finish with a glaze of varnish (1 pint) with rose-pink 
(1-4 pint) in fine powder therein. 

102. There is also a very elaborate preparation made 
with 1 gallon alcohol, 1 1-2 pounds logwood, 1 pound 
red Sanders, 2 ounces aquafortis. Three coats of this 
are given as a ground. The dark grounds may be given 
by any of the blacks. By several good workman the 
following is preferred for the black or figure color : 

103. One-half pound gall nuts powdered, 6 quarts 
water, 1-4 ounce verdigris, 1 ounce logwood extract, 



306 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

1-4 ounce alum. Boil 3 hours. This is said to look Tcry 
rich, and when glazed with a very thin asphaltnm, dried, 
sand papered, and finally carefully varnished, to look 
very rose woody. 

104. Many workmen succeed very well by using a re- 
verse process, namely, staining or dyeing the wood first 
a black, and then producing a red figure, either by the 
use of the tin solution (21), or a strong solution, hot, 
of oxalic acid. Proceed in the same general way as in 
No. 101. 

ROSEWOOD IMITATION" ON WALNUT. 

105. One pound logwood, 1-2 pound red sanders, 2 
quarts water; boil 3 hours. Apply hot, two coats; a strong 
red is wantedc Make the black figure with thin as- 
phaltum, to which a little lampblack is added. The 
asphaltum should be mixed in the proportion of 1 
pound asphalt to 2 quarts turpentine, a teaspoonful of 
furniture varnish may also be added with good effect. 
When varnished this will look very well; this answers 
also on a light colored hard wood, such as birch. If 
the glaze needs coloring, add a little extract of red sand- 
ers, in alcohol, to it. 

ROSEWOOD-COLORED CANE WORK. 

106. The following colored varnish is used in cane work : 
1 gallon alcohol; 1 pound extract of logwood; 1 pound 
red sanders; 1 pound dragon's blood; half pound shel- 
lac. Shake occasionally. When completely dissolved, 
strain. Use with brush, giving two or more coats as de- 
sired. Finish with one or two coats of ordinary varnish. 
Suitable for all cane or reed work. 

107. Any of the browns (permanganate of potass is 
very convenient) for the ground color, and a darker 
brown for the figure. The figure can be put in with a 
camel hair pencil and softened with a badger blender. 

108. A cheap walnut stain for soft-wood chairs, bed- 
steads, &c., is: one pint nitric acid; 1 pint water; 1 tea- 
spoonf ull vinegar and iron, or solution of green vitriol. 
Apply hot with a new or clean brush upon goods that have 
been warmed, and kept warm until the color is dried in. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 307 

The brush in this case should be protected from the acid 
by having oil (linseed) applied to the upper part and 
letting it soak well. The method is to hold the brush- 
handle down and pour the oil into it. The furniture 
may be varnished in a little while after staining. 

DEEP WALNUT COLOR. 

109. Viedt, a German authority, gives the following for- 
mula, and vouches for its excellence: 1 part Manganate 
of soda; 1 part epsom salts; 30 parts of hot water. 
Brush on the wood and allow to dry; repeat if need be. 
The less water the darker the stain. It admits of any 
kind of finish. 

110. To color the sap ofblack walnut. — To render the 
color of the sap portion uniform with the darker portion 
of the wood, a wash is made as follows : One gallon of 
vinegar, 1 pound of dry burnt umber, 1-2 pound of rose 
pink, 1-2 pound of Vandyke brown. Grind to a paste, 
or powder the materials, and mix thoroughly. Apply 
with a sponge, allow to dry and rub off. The effect is 
very good, and the color can be graded to match ex- 
actly. 

111. Cheap and quick color for soft ivood laclcs, in- 
side of case work, cheap chairs, &c. — Thin shellac, 1 
gallon; dry burnt umber, 1 pound, (powdered); dry 
burnt sienna, I pound ; lamp black, 1-4 pound. Mix 
thoroughly and apply with a brush — an even coat like any 
other varnish. Rub off with fine paper when dry, and 
give one coat shellac varnish as a finish. 

112. For soft tvood, (cheap) and for same purpose as 
last. — Two quarts turpentine, 2 ounces asphaltum, 1 
pint Japan varnish, 1 pound burnt umber, 1 pound 
Venetian red (powdered.) Mix thoroughly and apply 
with brush as ordinary paint. Finish with shellac var- 
nish, and one or more coats of finishing varnish. 

113. 1 gallon turpentine, 2 pounds burnt umber, (dry 
and powdered. ) Mix thoroughly. Apply with brush. 
Eub off, when finished, with woolen cloth, and finish 
with raw linseed oil. 

114. With wax. — For soft woods, 1-4 pound asphalt- 
am, 1-2 pound beeswax, 1 gallon turpentine. Keep in 



308 THE HOME MECHANIC, 

warm place, shake occasionally until thoroughly mixed. 
Add beeswax if required thicker, and asphaltum if de- 
sired darker. Apply with brush or sponge, and rub ofE 
with woolen cloth. No Tarnish. It gives a wax 
finish. 

115. The following is cheap and effective: Walnut- 
shell extract 1 part— by weight — is dissolved in soft 
water 6 parts, and slowly heated to boiling until the so- 
lution is complete. The surface to be stained is cleaned 
and warmed, and gone over with the solution once or 
twice. When the latter is half dry, the whole is gone 
over again with 1 part of chromate of potash boiled in 
5 parts of water. It is then dried, rubbed down, and 
polished in the ordinary way. 

OAK. 

116. Ash darkened makes a good imitation of oak. 
Beech, or any other light-colored hard wood, may be 
stained with any of the browns of the proper shade 
59-62) and a graining comb drawn through to get the 
characteristic grain of the oak. Allow it to dry and put 
in the lights with a solution of pearl white (bismuth 
white) and an ounce of isinglass to 1-2 pint of boiling 
water. Mix thoroughly and apply with brush or any 
means that will give the effect. 

SATIir WOOD. 

This is merely a light shade of yellow, and may be ob- 
tained by any of the yellow stains previously noted. A 
favorite recipe is as follows: 

117. 1 quart alcohol; 3 ounces turmeric, powdered; 
11-2 ounces gamboge. Steep for a day; shake up and 
stain; apply one or more coats; allow to dry, and sand- 
paper down. May be finished in French polish or var- 
nish. 

CHEERY. 

A mahogany stain, slightly diluted. The following is 
recommended by some mechanics: 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



809 



118. 1 quart spirits turpentine, 1 pint japan, 1 pound 
dry burnt sienna; apply with brush and wipe off with 
rags. 

119. 3 quarts soft water, 4 ounces annotto, 1-2 ounce 
hot or pearlash; boil. Maybe used cold, but is best hot. 

A cheap imitation of cherry, and quite good, is by 
making a decoction of Brazil wood in common whisky, 
hot, and applying hot. 

Sycamore wood, dyed by an infusion of Brazil wood, either by itself or with 
madder, is made like light-colored mahogany ; if alumed before lie Brazil is ap- 
phed, and finished with a wash of verdigris, it resembles pomegranate wood ; if, 
after being dyed with Brazil wood, it is washed over with spirit of vitriol, it re- 
sembles coral wood. 

Sycamore, dyed with the nankeen dye, that is to say, annatto aud sub-carbo- 
iiate of potasse, imitate s ligJbt-red mahogany ; if dyed with gamboge, dissolved 
in spirit of turpentine, it imitates citron wood ; if dyed with an im asion of mad- 
der, and the dyed wood washed over with a solution ot sugar of lead, it becomes 
a veined brown wood ; but if the second wash is given with spirits of vitriol, it 
becomes a veined green wood. 

Sycamore, dyed with logwood alone, imitates brown mahogany ; but if the log- 
wood dye was very strong, and the wood is afterwards washed over with a solu- 
tion of verdigris, the wood becomes quite black. 

Maple wood, dyed with BrazU, imitates light colored mahogany ; — with tumeric 
it imitates yeUow wood ; with logwood brown mahogany ; with logwood, and then 
washed wich spirit of vitriol, coral wood ; with logwood, the wood being previ- 
ously alvmied, it becomes brown ; with logwood, and then washed with verdigris, 
it becomes black. 

Poplar wood, dyed with Brazil wood and madder, imitates dark mahogany. 

Chestnut wood, dyed with saffron, or old chestnut, dyed with gambooge, imi- 
tates dark mahogany. 

Beech wood, dyed with tumeric, becomes yellow; with madder, and then 
washed with spirit of vitriol, it becomes green with veins ; and being first alumed 
and then dyed with logwood, it becomes brown. 

Aspen wood, dyed with tumeric, becomes yellow ; with alum first, and then log- 
wood, brown ; with a strong dye of logwood, and then washed with verdigris, 
black. 

Limetree wood, dyed with tumeric and muriate of tin, becomes orange-col- 
ored ; with madder, and then washed over with sugar of lead, brown with veins ; 
with a strong bath of logwood, and then washed with verdigris, black. 

Peartree wood, dyed with gamboge or saffron, becomes a deep orange satin 
wood. 

Planetree wood, by the same means, also imitates coral wood ; that is to say, 
the wood of the courbarel ; dyed with madder aloue, it imitates Ugnumvitae ; with 
madder, and then washed with sugar of lead, it becames brown with veins ; dyed 
with madder, and then washed with spirit of vitriol, a veiny green wood ; with a 
strong bath of logwood, and then washed with verdigris, black. 

Elm, dyed with gamboge or saffron, imitates hguumvitae. 

"Vi hen the wood is properly colored, and thoroughly drj^ it should be polished 
with Dutch rushes. — American Mechanics' Magazine, Vol. II., No. 32, Sept. 10, 
1825. 

FILLERS. 

Fillers are intended to save time ; to save labor ; to 
save varnish ; and, in some cases, to make a good result 
possible where scraping and pumice stoning are impos- 
sible or very difficult, and, we may add, to hide defects. 



310 THE HOME MECHANIC. \ 

They are of many kinds, from thin glue size, linseed 
oil and whiting, up to scraping varnish — a varnish espec- 
ially made for a filler. Patent fillers, mainly thin dilu- 
tions of shellac or of other resins, in wood alcohol, are 
many in number, and we believe that most of them in 
the market give fair results. Besides these, there are spe- 
cial mixtures. Every finisher has his own pet recipes — 
and he thinks that no others work so well. 

The first in order is thin glue, which can be used to 
advantage where it is desirable to preserve the color of 
soft light woods by varnishing. Woods so coated with 
glue, thin, allowed to dry thoroughly, lightly sand-pa- 
pered with fine paper, and then varnished with thin 
varnish, will hold its color for a long while. The glue 
should be without the mixture of whiting, so common. 
Then there is the mixture of calcined plaster of paris 
and water, applied in a creamy paste with a rag, and 
the surplus wiped off as soon as the pores are well filled 
and before the plaster can set. This is used m Europe as 
a filler before French polishing — but is not so much used 
here, probably, because French polishing is less preva- 
lent than varnishing. 

After these we have the mixture of linseed oil with 
starch, rye flour, whiting, paris white or plaster of paris, 
white lead, calcined magnesia or china clay, with tur- 
pentine or benzine, to make it work freely. Paris white 
is probably the best of all these whites, for it is suffi- 
ciently fine, does not set too quick, and fills smoother. 
When it is desirable to fill work of the second grade — 
such as most of the walnut, cherry, ash or oak furniture 
sold, coloring matters are added to agree with the 
wood — as umber for the walnut, Venetian red with a 
pinch of Vermillion for cherry, a very small portion of 
French yellow for oak, and still less yellow for the ash, 
&c. These fillers may be varnished, wax or oil finished, 
dead finished, or French polished. 

In some instances there is a prejudice a^^ainst this 
method of laying a substratum for the finishing coats on 
account of its supposed lack of durability, but we do not 
think the difference between the look of old furniture 
and of our modern work is due so much to the methods 
of previous generations as it is to the care which those 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 311 

methods were pursued. In tlie days of our fathers, a 
piece of furniture pointed out for our admiration now 
was polished while in the white with sand-paper, pum- 
ice stone, Dutch rushes, one after the other; was var- 
[nished, re-sand-papered, pumice-stoned, re -re- varnished, 
rotten-stoned, varnished again and again; repeated thin 
coats being given it, until the finish given it was such as 
to endure with fair care for several generations. In short, 
the pains which are now bestowed upon first-class pianos 
or coach work was that which was then given to the 
furniture which is used for comparison with the neces- 
sarily more quickly made and cheaper furniture of to-day. 
In the preceding paragraph it \vill be noticed that lin- 
seed oil is used in filling combinations. Now that oil in 
drying becomes a species of varnish, and hence it leaves 
a thin coat of varnish as a filler. In the following re- 
cipes, however, a certain portion of varnish is added to 
the filler, both to serve as dryer, and to insure more 
complete filling of the pores. 

riLLEE FOE WHITE LIGHT-COLORED WOOD. 

120. Six pounds whiting, 3 pounds plaster paris 
(calc), 1 quart brown japan varnish, 2 quarts raw lin- 
seed oil. Add sufficient turpentine or benzine to make 
it work freely. 

FOB COLOEED OE DAEK WOOD. 

121. The same as above — adding for oak a little yel- 
low, and a trace of burnt sienna; for walnut, a mixture 
of umber and sienna; Venetian red, with a trace of red 
lead, for cherry. Color should be cautiously used, so as 
not to obscure the liveliness of the wood. 

122. In filling, do not forget that the oil and varnish 
answers as darkeners. For light-colored woods, no color, 
or at most a trace of yellow. Boiled oil may be substi- 
tuted for the raw — in the case of dark wood. If you 
wish to finish rosewood in this way, black japan may be 
used instead of brown. A filler that will give universal 
satisfaction, is one composed of equal parts of boiled oil, 
japan, and benzine, thickened with the best whiting, 



312 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

under its various names of silver-white, paris-white, Ac., 
&c., and colored according to the wood upon which it 
is employed, by the addition of any of the colors spoken 
of. 

All these fillers are applied with rags, brush or 
nponge, and the surplus rubbed off immediately, and 
the goods allowed to dry, after which the varnish coats 
may be applied. 

A favorite filler with English workmen in French 
polish is tallow, free from salt, mixed with plaster of 
paris, colored to suit the wood, as previously mentioned. 
If the tallow cannot be purchased clear of salt, it can be 
boiled half an hour or more, when the salt will drop to 
the bottom of the water, and the clear tallow will swim. 
Allow it to cool on the water, and then lift it off. Mix 
with the aid of heat. 

PIAKO FINISH. 

The highest class of work — such as piano cases and 
the most costly furniture — is first carefully sand-papered 
with the finest paper, and this portion of the job is con- 
cluded with a piece of old sand-paper. It then is given 
two or three coats of scraping varnish, each allowed to 
dry very thoroughly. It is next scraped with the steel 
scraper until the grain of the wood becomes just visible. 
It is then lightly sand-papered, and then carefully cleaned 
off with an old silk handkerchief or otherwise. It 
then receives from three to five coats of polishing var- 
nish — no coat being applied until the last is perfectly 
dry and hard. Unless thorough dryness is secured there 
will arise many troubles for the finisher. The last of 
these varnish coats being allowed to dry hard, it is 
next rubbed down with powdered pumice stone and 
water until all inequalities and brush-marks are rubbed 
out. It is then sponged and dried well by chamois 
leather, and allowed to stand for all dampness to evapo- 
rate from the surface. Two successive polishing varnish 
coats are again applied, and again rubbed down as be- 
fore, preferably with powdered rotten stone and water 
applied with a rag. Wiped off now with sponge or damp 
chamois, or both, the luster is brought out with the bare 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 313 

hand, using the ball of the thumb. When all is done, 
go over the work with a ball of raw cotton containing a 
drop of sweet oil; clear the work of oil by wiping with 
an old silk handkerchief and powdered starch or flour, 
or with the same Just perceptibly moist with alcohol. 

Cheap pianos have much less labor put upon them. 
They receive the usual coating of scraping varnish, about 
three coats of rubbing or polishing varnish, rubbed down 
once, and a final coat of flowing varnish, making a ma- 
terial shortening of the labor. 

DEAD FINISH. 

A dead or matt finish — that is, one without brilliancy 
■ — is obtained by the use ol shellac varnish. Two or 
three coats are given, a filler being first used if required, 
each allowed to dry thoroughly, and the last rubbed 
down with pumice stone and raw linseed oil, or powdered 
rotten stone and oil. There are two shades of shellac — 
that is, the natural color and the bleached. The bleached 
is used where it is desirable to keep tlie color of the wood 
in as nearly natural a condition as is possible. The un- 
bleached acts somewhat as a darkener. The dead finish 
is desirable as a contrast to the polished surface of pan- 
els, which are finished either with a coat of flowing var- 
nish, or, more carefully, with polishing varnish (" piano 
finish''). 

OIL FINISH. 

In some shops, what we call a Dead Finish, or Matt 
Finish, is known as Oil Finish. lb is generally com- 
bined with a polished or *^ bright'' finish, and frequently 
with ^'ebonized (black) lines," moldings or beads, and 
gilding. In the production of this Oil, Dead or Matt 
Swinish, when in a combination like that mentioned 
above; all the parts, except tliose to be ebonized, receive 
tlie usual first coat of shellac varnish. Then the black 
stain is applied carefully to the parts intended to be 
cbotiized in two or more successive coats until the color 
is deep enough. Then the whole work receives another 
coat of shellac, the carvings, &c., being cleaned thor- 



314 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

oughly with rag and powder and stick. The coats "being 
thoroughly dry, the parts intended to be bright are 
scraped down to the wood, and one or more coats of 
polishing yarnish are given, which are allowed to dry, 
rubbed down with ground pumice stone and water on 
a rag, succeeded by powdered rotten stone and water, 
&c., as described in Piano Finish. 

The parts to be dead, matt or oil finished are sand- 
papered down after the first polishing coat on the bright 
parts is dry ; then carefully cleaned and given two or 
more successive coats of shellac varnish, or rubbing 
varnish (a cabinet varnish somewhat cheaper than pol- 
ishing), which are allowed to dry hard, and then rubbed 
down with powdered pumice stone and oil, as described 
in Dead Finish, and carefully cleaned. The gilding, if 
any, is then done (see Gilding), and finally, the ebonized 
lines, if even and regular, receive a few touches of the 
powdered pumice stone and oil, or a few rubs with a 
piece of old and fine half worn-out sand-pamper, and 
then being cleaned, a coat of flowing varnish. 

OIL EINISH (GEKUIKE). 

A real oil finish is given by making a mixture of eight 
parts linseed oil simmered (not boiled) ten minutes and 
one part turpentine or benzine, and applying it to the 
furniture with a rag or brush, and afterwards rubbing 
off clean with a clean dry rag. This is repeated tliree 
or more times. It makes a fair finish, with an egg-shell 
gloss; but, until aged, requires more attention to keep 
free from dust than the dead finish accomplished with 
shellac and pumice. It becomes quite durable, however, 
and will resist hot water and stand hot dishes. 

WAX FINISH. 

Modem wax finish is obtained by cutting beeswax in 
spirits of turpentine in any proportion. (A little excess 
of turpentine does not hurt, as it readily evaporates in 
the operation, which is the intention. ) This makes a 
waxy paste, which may be applied to all hard woods, 
and produces a handsome, semi-glossy surface, not so 
bright as a varnished surface, nor so dull as a "Dead 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 315 

Finish." It preserves the wood, brings out the color, 
and can readily be applied by the owner of the furni- 
ture. The paste is rubbed in, the superfluous wax 
roughly scraped off with a wooden scraper, and then 
gone over with clean, soft woolen rags until it shines. 
Some workmen prefer to let the wax dissolve in the tur- 
pentine cold, as they have a fancy the heat diminishes 
the polishing effecb. 

Paraffine and stearin are used in the same way, and 
are by some workmen colored slightly to harmonize with 
the wood, the colors being the dry mineral colors in fine 
powder. In some shops it is the practice to protect 
the wax coat with a thin coat of French polish, which 
deepens the gloss and has a very fine effect. 

Another of these wax finishes is made by mixing 
about 3 ounces of tallow, 3-4 ounces wax, and I pint 
turpentine. On oaks, applied in a warm room and fin- 
ished up with French polish, it produces a greatly admired 
yellowish *'tone," which may be due to a trifle of French 
yellow in the mixture, but withheld by the workman 
giving the recipe. 

Sti]l another encaustic, as these wax-finishes are some- 
times called, is a soft soap, made by boiling a quarter of 
a pound of white wax in a ley made of pearlash 1 ounce 
and water 1 quart. One of the objects, and not the least, 
of this process is to procure a wax free from the adul- 
terations with which almost all commercial wax is con- 
taminated. This wax soap should be constantly stirred 
while boiling and until cold. Apply with a paint brush, 
and rub dry with another soft hat-brush or piece of 
plush, or some similar article. This wax polish is tlie 
pleasantest to the eye of all the finishes that can be ap- 
plied to wood. 

On large, flat surfaces some workmen merely brush on 
the soft wax, and then go over it quickly with a hot flat- 
iron. This is similar to the old-fashioned method of 
wax-finishing coffins, still prevalent in some parts of the 
country. In this method the wax is directly melted 
upon a hot flat-iron and dropped on the wood. When the 
wax is evenly ironed into and all over the wood, the 
surplus wax is scraped off, another ironing of the surface 
made, and a final polish given with a cork rubber. T]ie 



316 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

turpentine wax paste, however, works quicker and joflt 
as well. 

IMITATION" WAX FINISH. 

Black walnut, just at present the fashionable wood, 
is sometimes treated thus to produce a finish less liable 
to injury from water and other causes than wax. It is 
given a coat of shellac, which is allowed to dry, and 
then sand-papered off. It is then given a coat of filler, 
composed of whiting and plaster of paris mixed with 
brown japan, oil and benzine, and a little thin shellac 
varnish, which is rubbed in and wiped off. Two coats 
of shellac are afterwards given, and rubbed down with 
pumice stone and oil, as in dead finish. In fact, it is a 
dead finish, and is only caUed wax finish to tickle the 
ear of the buyer. 

ONE -COAT VAENISH FIiaSH. 

The work is given a coat of boiled oil and fine whiting 
or plaster, colored with burnt umber, Venetian red or 
French yellow dredged on it from a flour-dredger, or 
through an old piece of crape. This is well rubbed in, 
and the work cleaned off. A single coat of varnish is 
applied when the filler is dry, and the effect is good. 

POLISHING OE KUBBING VAENISH. 

Zanzibar polishing varnish is used to procure the finest 
brilliancy which the surface is capable of. Previous to 
applying it on the best work, such as rosewood or ma- 
hogany, two coats of shellac varnish should be given, 
each well sand -papered down with fine paper, then two 
or three coats of polishing varnish, each being allowed 
to dry very hard before its successor is applied. The last 
coat being dried hard, it is then rubbed down with pow- 
dered pumice stone and water. Then it is rubbed off 
with rotten stone and water. Chamois off, or clean with 
an old silk handkerchief; then with a piece of raw cotton 
just slightly and evenly oiled with sweet oil rub off the 
work, so as to get away every grain of the rotten stone. 
Finally, with an old silk handkerchief just moist with 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 317 

alcohol go over it lightly to take off the oil. Give it one 
or two light rubs with the ball of the hand and you will 
have a "piano polish " on your panels. 

FLOWING VARKISH. 

'' Flow " Varnish is applied either upon work care- 
fully prepared, as in the preceding paragraph, or where 
it is net easy to give the final polishing touch with the 
ball of the hand, as in panels, &c. It is much in favor — 
for instance, where the panels are varnish-polished and 
the rest of the work dead-finished. In this case the 
whole work should receive two coats of shellac varnish. 
The part intended to be matt or dead finished should 
then be rubbed down with pumice stone and oil (lin- 
seed, raw), while the panels intended to be bright should 
be rubbed down with powdered pumice stone and water. 
The work is then carefully freed from dust with an old 
silk handkerchief, and then carried into the varnishing 
room, which should be free from dust, moisture, and of 
an even temperature (about 70 deg.) Here the flowing 
varnish should be laid thinly, evenly, and as quickly as 
may be, making the brush go only one way and leaving 
no brush marks. The brush used may be either a fitch 
or badger flowing brush, and the quicker the work is 
done the better. 

FKENCH POLISH. 

French Polish is shellac varnish — either simply shel- 
lac in alcohol, or in combination with other gums, the 
latter in small proportion. (Eecipe will be given at the 
close of this chapter.) Previous to the application of 
the polish the work is sand-papered as usual, wet with 
a sponge, dried, re-sand-papered, &c., until a good sur- 
face is obtained. It is then filled with any of the fol- 
lowing fillers: Tallow free of salt; whiting and water; 
plaster of paris and water; white lead and water; mag- 
nesia and water; or combinations of two or more of 
these four whites, rubbed on with a sponge and wiped 
off before drying. The tallow serves best for colored 
woods, and combinations of the whites named with dry- 



318 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ing oil will also answer in the same case, and the mix- 
ture of the same whites with water for light colored 
woods. 

Shellac varnish itself is often used as a filler, put on 
roughly and rubbed in across the grain with a sponge, 
allowed to dry, and pumiced off before polishing. Soft 
woods may be filled with one or more coats of thin glue 
water, dried and sand-papered off. Holes are filled with 
a cement composed of equal parts of beeswax, shellac 
and common resin, which takes the polish perfectly, and 
can be colored to match the wood with, some of its own 
sawdust, or a mineral color. 

Suppose the work to have been duly sand-papered, 
the grain raised by successive wettings and dryings, and 
removed by the repeated sand-paperings, the filling to 
have been applied, wiped off and dried, and the work 
again sand-papered or pumiced and wiped clean and 
dry, it is now ready for poUsMng. 

Application. — The mode of application necessary for 
French polish differs from that of ordinary varnishes, 
being effected by rubbing it with fine cloth upon the 
surface of the material to be polished, and using oil and 
spirits of wine during the process. In applying it to 
large surfaces use a rubber formed of a flat coil of thick 
woolen cloth, such as drugget, &c., which may be torn 
off the piece in order that the surface of the rubber, 
which is made of the torn edge of the cloth, may be soft 
andphant, and not hard and stiff, as would be the case 
were it to be cut off, and therefore be liable to scratch 
the soft surface of the varnish. This rubber is to be se- 
curely bound with thread to prevent it from uncoiling 
when it is used, and it may vary in its size from one to 
three inches in diameter and from one to two inches in 
thickness, according to the extent of the surface to be 
varnished. The polish is to be applied to the middle 
of the flat face of the rubber by shaking up the bottle 
containing it against the rubber; it will absorb a consid- 
erable quantity, and will continue to supply it equally 
and in due proportion to the surface which is undergo- 
ing the process of polishing. 

The face of the rubber must next be covered by a soft 
linen cloth doubled, the remainder of the cloth being 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 319 

gathered together at the back of the rubber to form a 
handle to hold it by, and the face of the cloth must be 
moistened with a little raw linseed oil applied upon the 
finger to the middle of it, and the operation be com- 
menced by quickly and lightly rubbing the surface of 
the article to be polished in a constant succession of 
small circular strokes, if a flat surface, but if a molded 
face a light back and forward stroke without lifting the 
hand will answer, and the operation must be confined to 
a gpace of not more than ten or twelve inches square 
until such space is finished, when an adjoining one may 
be commenced and united with the first, and so on until 
the whole serface is covered. The polish is inclosed 
by the double fold of cloth, which by absorption be- 
comes merely moistened with it, and the rubbing of each 
piece must be continued until it becomes nearly dry. 

The rubber may, for a second coat, be wetted with 
polish without the oil, and applied as before. A third 
coat may also be given in the same manner ; then a 
fourth with a little oil, which must be followed as be- 
fore, with two others without oil ; and thus proceeding 
until the polish acquires some thickness, which will be 
after a few repetitions, and depends on the care that has 
been taken in finishing the surface. Then a little spirits 
of wine may be applied to the inside of the rubber after 
wetting it with the polish and being covered with the 
linen as before ; it must be very quickly and uniformly 
rubbed over every part of the surface ; this tends to 
make it even, and very much conduces to its polish. 

The cloth must next be wetted with a little spirits of 
wine and oil without polish, and the surface being 
rubbed over, with the precautions last mentioned, until 
it is nearly dry, the effect of the operation will be seen, 
and if it be found that it is not complete the process 
must be continued, with the introduction of spirits of 
wine in its turn as directed, until the surface becomes 
uniformly smooth and beautifully polished. The work 
to be polished should be placed opposite the light in or- 
der that the effect of the polishing may be better seen. 
In this manner a surface from one to eight feet square 
may be polished, and the process, instead of being lim- 
ited to the polishing of rich cabinets or other snmllei 



320 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

works, can now be applied to tables and other large 
pieces of furniture with very great advantages over the 
comraon method of polishing with wax, oils, &c. In 
some cases it is considered preferable to rub the wood 
over with a little oil applied on a linen cloth before be- 
ginning to polish, but the propriety of this method is 
very much doubted. 

When the color of the wood to be polished is dark a 
harder polish may be made by making the composition 
of one part of shellac and eight parts of spirits, pro- 
ceeding as before directed. For work polished by the 
French polish, the recesses or carved work, or where the 
surfaces are not liable to wear, or are difficult to be got 
at with the rubber, a spirit made with benzine and san- 
darach or mastic and benzine (see recipe at the end of 
chapter), considerably thicker than that used in the 
foregoing process, may be applied to those parts with a 
brush or hairpencil, as is commonly done in other modes 
of varnishing. French polish is not proper for dining 
tables, nor for anything where it is liable to be partially 
exposed to a considerable heat. 

The object of this apparently intricate but really 
simple process is to put upon the wood a film of shellac, 
which shall dry hard and smooth while in the hands of 
the workman. All the processes described have a rea- 
son, as the reader will perceive when he comes to try it. 

There is a mode of filling -used by some workmen, 
which we will mention here. Dip the rubber into the 
polish; dredge upon it out of a common little pepper- 
box a few grains of plaster of paris, and cover with a 
fresh piece of linen. Then proceed with the usual cir- 
cular motion, and get a good surface. Follow this up 
after it is dry by using powdered and sifted pumice 
stone in the same way as you did the plaster of paris. 
You will need very little of either — too much plaster 
will weaken the color of your polish, and too much 
pumice stone will cut it away. 

Porous walnut may be treated iike soft wood: glue- 
sized, dried, sand-papered, two coats shellac applied 
across the grain, the work again sand-papered, scraped 
or pumiced, and then polished as described. 

The cover of the rubber should be old worn linen, 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 821 

but clean ; cotton is apt to give off shreds of lint, but 
if well washed before using will answer. 

No attempt at scraping, sand-papering or polishing 
veneered work should be made until the last coat^ what- 
ever it may be, is thoroughly dry. 

The filling is not necessary on boxwood, good ebony, 
rosewood, or other fine grained woods. 

On auy, except the fine grained hard wood, the ob- 
taining of a surface is facilitated by moistening with 
water, causing the grain to rise, allowing ifc to dry and 
then sand-papering it off lightly with fine paper ; this 
is repeated two or more times. We have alluded to this 
several times. 

The filling should not be commenced immediately 
after the sand-papering of the raw wood. The surface 
should be allowed a rest of twenty-four hours or more, 
and should be wiped thoroughly clean. 

French polishing should be done in a room warmed to 
a temperature of not less than 72 to 75 deg. ; 75 deg. is 
better. It should be free of dast. There must be no 
draughts over the work. 

Mahogany, if poor in color, may be colored with red 
oil (raw linseed oil, in which powdered Brazil wood has 
been soaked), until it has a pleasant, red tone. 

The most difficult part of the work in French polish- 
ing is near the edges, where it is not easy to make the 
circular sweep of the hand tell. This may be finished 
with a camel's hair brush, and Glaze (124) laid on as any 
other varnish. 

Lathe work may be French polished easily by turning 
the wheel by hand and applying the rubber lightly to 
the surface. No preliminary filling is needed in this 
case, as the work can be made very smooth by holding 
against it its own shavings. 

FRENCH POLISH. 

123. 1 pint alcohol, 4 ounces shellac, 1-4 ounce ben- 
zoin, 1-4 ounce sandarch. Use bleached shellac for light 
color work. 



322 THE HOME MEOHABnC. 



SLICK. 

This is a very rapidly drying, shining spirit var- 
nish, used to finish any piece of work in a hurried 
way. The usual method of applying it is to give the 
work one somewhat hasty coat of French polish, and 
then, when dry, going over with one wipe straight for- 
ward and back, in the direction of the grain, with the 
Slick. If done with a light hand and evenly, it gives a 
quick, good finish, not very durable, nor expected to be 
so. The same rubber is used as with French polish. 
Slick is called by the various names of Slake, Finish, 
G-laze, Telegraph, Lightning, &c., &c. In different 
shops it is made thus: 

124. Mastic, 1 ounce; benzine, 5 ounces; alcohol, 5 
gills. Shake well and don't use until well dissolved. 

Where it is difficult to work with the rubber, brown 
hard or white hard varnish is used, applied with a brush, 
(the flat varnishing brush), or a piece of velvet sponge 
cut brush- wise. Brown Hard Varnish consists of — 

125. Shellac, 4 ounces ; rosin, 1 ounce ; benzoin, 1 
ounce ; alcohol, 1 pint. 

126. White Hard Varnish. — Bleached shellac, 4 ounces; 
sandarach, 3 ounces; alcohol, 1 pint. 

In many cases, however, shellac is the only gum used, 
and it appears to answer very well, though indeed the 
other gums do give considerably more polish to the sur- 
face of it. 

ENAMELED FURITITUEE. 

Furniture painted and varnished is called enameled. 
The method of producing this brilliant finish so called 
resembles that employed in coach-painting, but the pro- 
cesses are shortened, so much pains not being necessary 
with ware whose use is in the house. The general out- 
lines of the process are : 

First coat — which may be o, filler (for enameled furni- 
ture is always of soft, porous wood), carefully wiped off 
and left to dry — Sand-papering with fine sand-paper fol- 
lows, and then a coat of white lead with a little ivory- 
black in it is given, just enough to produce a lead color. 
Then putty. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 323 

This is allowed to dry thoroughly, when it receives rub- 
bing down with sand-paper or pumice stone and watc. 

This being dry, the ground color is applied generally 
quite full and almost flowing. This being thoroughly 
dry, is rubbed off very lightly with the finest sand-paper, 
pumice and water, or a handful of curled hair, after 
which the glaze is applied. The glaze is the finishing 
color coat mixed with varnish. This in many shops 
constitutes the finish, but in others where the work is 
more careful a coat of flowing varnish is put on over the 
glaze when the latter is dry. When this is the case, the 
glaze should also be rubbed with curled hair before var- 
nishing. In more careful work the filler is omitted, and 
two or even three preliminary coats of lead are given in- 
stead of one. Bed lead is used with the white in the 
first and second coat when it does not interfere wiMi the 
ground color, as it dries hard and rubs well. It is need- 
less to say that the work should be well sand-papered 
before any painting is done at all. 

COLOKS. 

Bright colors are preferred in this class of furniture — 
green, blue (ultramarine), olive browns, chocolates, &c. 
We give a table of tints below, from which the reader can 
select what he desires. No exact proportions can be 
given ; the workman must practice on a small portion of 
his material and observe the effect If a workman is ac- 
customed to handle colors from the same dealer, he 
should make a table of the proportions which he uses. 
It will soon save him so much time that he will thank 
us for the hint. 

Colors vary much in their intensity. Transparent 
colors often require two coats of ground. 

Always begin with mixing the lighter color first, and 
then add the darker, until you have the shade required. 

TABLE OF TINTS. 

Gray. — White and lamp black. 
Buff. — White, red, yellow, and a little black. 
Pearl. — White, ultramarine blue, and carmine. 
Orange. — Yellow and red. 



324 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Violet. — White, ultramarine blue, and carmine, 

Purple. — Same as above, only in different quantities. 

Gold. — White, stone ochre, and a little burnt umber. 

Olive. — White, yellow, black and red. 

Chestnut. — Red, black, and yellow. 

Flesh. — Vermilion, white, and yellow. 

Fawk. — White, red, yellow, burnt umber. 

Drab. — White, yellow, red, burnt and raw umber. 

Do. — Ochre, burnt sienna, black. 

Do. — Any variety can be obtained by these colors. 

Brown Green. — Chrome green, yellow, black, and 
red. 

Pea Green. — Chrome green with white lead. 

Rose Tint. — Carmine and white, or madder lake and 
white. 

Copper. — Red, chrome, yellow, and black. 

Lemon. — Pale chrome and white. 

Claret. — Vermilion and blue. 

Dove Color. — White, vermilion, blue, yellow. 

Pinks. — White, vermilion, madder lake or carmine. 

Cream. — White and pale yellow ochre. 

Salmon. — White, light red, and yellow. 

Straw. — Chrome or yellow ochre and white. 

Lilac. — Carmine, blue, and white. 

These constitute the principal tints in general use, but 
by practice in composition, a great variety more can be 
obtained. 

GROUND colors. 

The ground color should always dry dead if possible, 
even though intended to be pumiced or sand-papered. 
The pumicing or papering is intended to "deaden" the 
surface of the ground color for the reception of the glaze, 
as well as to level the surface. 

Green. — This may be ground in Japan varnish. 
Chrome yellow and Prussian blue make a good ground, 
and can be graded to any shade. It may be glazed with 
Paris green or green lake. Dark green may be glazed 
with yellow lake. The last gives a very rich solid effect. 

Browns. — Drop black ground in Japan, with a little 
vermilion added, makes a rich brown. Chrome yellow. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 325 

Indian red, burned umber and wliite lead, cautiously 
mixed in Japan, beginning with the yellow, which is the 
principal constituent of this color, will make a good Ox- 
ford brown. 

Fawn Colors. — Chrome yellow, vermilion (very little), 
drop black (still less), burned sienna, form the ingredi- 
ents of many shades. 

Drabs. — Vermilion, drop black, chrome yellow and 
burnt senna will produce your drabs, which you can 
make warmer or cooler by diminishing or increasing the 
red. 

Clarets. — Vermilion, Prussian blue, white lead. Be 
careful with the blue. A good purple can also be had 
in the same way. For fine clarets, mix vermilion, a lit- 
tle ultramarine, rose pink and raw oil, with sugar of lead 
for drier. It were better if the oil were prepared before- 
hand as follows : 

CLEAR DRYING OIL. 

127. One pound litharge, 1 pound sugar lead, half 
gallon water. Shake frequently, and when the litharge 
is all dissolved, add another half gallon water, filter- 
ing it and putting it into 3 gallons raw linseed oil, with 
1 pound litharge stirred into it. Shake frequently, and 
then allow to stand three or four days. Tlie oil rising 
to the top, and which may be poured off, constitutes the 
drying oil. It is clear and bright, and will dry in about 
twenty-four hours, and is particularly adapted to trans- 
parent colors. 

When the ground is dry, pumice or sand-paper as 
usual, and glaze with purple lake. 

The claret colors can be obtained any lighter shade by 
decreasing the blue or omitting it altogether, and glazing 
with light colored lakes, scarlet or crimson. 

The lake colors all work with some difficulty. They 
work all the better if freshly ground with a little water 
before being mixed with the varnish. 

Blue. — Prussian blue and white lead mixed in the clear 
drying oil (127) makes a g^od ground. Glaze with ultra- 
marine. If ultramarine is used for the ground it will 
take two coats. 



326 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

White. — White lead for first coat in drying oil (127), 
sand-paper ; second, coat of white lead and oil, sand- 
paper ; third, white lead, oil, and a little varnish, 
pumice stone ; finish with flowing varnish. This is an 
ordinary T\hite. The oil will in years make it turn yel- 
low somewhat, though by many this yellow tone is not 
disliked, and some painters put in a little yellow when 
it is painted ; others, to correct the tendency to yelh^w, 
and with a view to producing a ^' cold" white, put in a 
little ultramarine into the glaze. Tastes differ. 

White or China Gloss. — First coat, best French zinc 
white ground in turpentine, and a few drops of raw oil 
or the drying oil (127) ; when dry, sand-paper down ; 
second, another coat of the same, rubbed down when 
dry ; third, apply a coat of zinc white and Damar var- 
nish ; fourth, flowing coat of Damar. This will hold its 
pure white color for a very long time. 

Zinc white does not cover as well as white lead, and it 
may sometimes be necessary to add a thin coat of zinc 
and turpentine before glazing. 

Zinc White or China Gloss — Another Method. — First 
coat, white lead and turpentine and very little oil (raw 
or drying oil, (127) ; then putty ; sand-paper or pumice ; 
second, zinc white in drying oil, sand -paper or 
pumic; third, zinc white with a very little ultra- 
marine, and still less allowance of carmine, in Da- 
mar varnish ; fourth, one coat of clear Damar varnish. 
This makes a sweet color, very glossy and durable. The 
coax of clear Damar may be omitted. The work looks 
finished when it is glazed. 

China Gloss. — (Third method.) — First coat, white 
lead, a minute portion of ivory black, putty, and when 
dry rub down. 

Second, coat, white lead ; rub. 

Third, zinc white in finishing varnish. Kub down 
with powdered pumice and water. 

Fourth, zinc white in finishing varnish. Rub lightly 
with curled hair. 

Fifth, finishing yamish. 



/ THE HOME MECHANIC. 827 

BLACK. 

First coat of dark lead color; when dry, a 

Second coat of dead black, made of ivory black, 
drying oil and turpentine. Kub slightly when dry. 

Third black body japan varnish (coachmakers'). 
Very little rubbing will do with this finish. It is used 
for work-boxes, and the brilliant black parts of furniture 
where ebonizing is not desired or convenient. 

Blach (Another Method). — Two coats white lead, each 
allowed to dry and rubbed down. 

Third coat, ivory black and finishing varnish ; rubbed 
down well. 

Fourth, black body japan. 

Fifth, finishing varnish, one coat. 

A GEi^^ERAL METHOD of enamel painting, practiced 
in some shops : 

1. Thin coat lead. 

2. Putty, and allow to dry. 

3. Eub down. 

4. Coat of lead as before, and allow to dry. 

5. Rub. 

6. Coat of white lead and any mineral color approach- 
ing color required. Set by until tacky or nearly dry. 

7. Scrape off with steel scraper, and allow to dry. 

8. Rub down. 

9. The color proper and varnish or glaze. 

10. Dry. 

11. Rub off with curled hair and one to three coats of 
finishing varnish. 

OBNAMENTATIOK. 

Enameled work is striped and otherwise ornamented. 
The striping should be dead color in drying oil, whether 
it is to be covered with a coat of finishing varnish or it 
is to lie on the surface of the glazing color. 

As to choice of colors, black is a relief to any color - 
white is the same. Light orange goes well with blue; 
Black, Vermillion, carmine, with green. Black, vermil. 
lion or orange suits the clarets; with the mixed fawn and 
drab shades, besides black, the same color sas the ground, 
only darker by two or three shades, is a good lining. 



328 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Indeed, this is true of all colors ; a darker shade of any 
color makes a good striping for tiiat color; and a lighter 
color, if striped in a broad line with a thin black one on 
one side or both, will also look very well. Very vivid 
effects can be got by running broad black lines with fine 
orange or ver million lines at the side, and then splitting 
the black with a thin white line. But these effects are 
too brilliant and take too much time for this class of 
furniture generally. 

KNOTS IN THE WOOD. 

In cottage or enameled furniture the wood is not al- 
ways free from knots, which will prevent perfect work 
in painting, and sometimes bring discredit on the shop. 
To cover knots, use the following shellac varnish : 

120. One pound shellac, 1 gallon alcohol, 4 ounces 
potash. 

A thin coat of this is sufficient to effectually bar 
the rosin of the kaot from interfering with any future 
operations. 

STENCILED WOKK. 

The popularity of "Eastlake furniture" ornamented 
with tiles has led to an imitation of it in cheap furni- 
ture. It is not very admirable, yet fair effects may be 
produced with care. The stencils are cut out of strong 
Manila paper and varnished with thin shellac on both 
sides. This makes them very durable. The designs are 
imitations as near as may be of porcelain tiles. The 
ground should be "dead" — that is, it should be mixed 
with plenty of turpentine and little oil. When dry, it 
should be sand-papered slightly with the finest paper. 
The stenciling will then not run. The stencil colors 
should be mixed rather thick with boiled oil or japan 
and a very little turpentine. The stencil brush is of 
the ordinary shape of stencil brushes — that is, cut off 
square. 

Another method is to give the wood, after the usual 
sand-papering, a first thin coat of shellac. This, 
when dry, is sand-papered down with fine sand-paper. 
This is done so that the stencil color shall not run. 
The stenciling is then done, and the ground filled in 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 329 

with a small brush. This method is not so quick nor so 
neat as the previous one, but is adapted to sunken parts 
that must be managed slowly and carefully. 

G-enerally speaking, choice tube colors, mixed with 
japaners' gold size and turpentine, are used in making 
these imitations of tiles, for the colors on china are pure 
and bright, though sometimes the ordinary colors pro- 
duce very good results. A coat of finishing varnish over 
the stenciled pattern concludes the work and completes 
the imitation. There is also stenciling on furniture 
which is not painted, but only French polished or var- 
nished. The process is similar to the first part of the 
process described in the preceding paragraph ; that is, 
the grain is first filled with thin shellac or French 
polish, which is allowed to dry, and is then sand-papered. 
The stenciling follows. 

GKAINIKG. 

GEOUNDS. 

The following will generally answer for the ground 
colors or coats in most graining operations: 

MAHOGAKY. 

Orange chrome, Venetian red, and white-lead mixed 
in such proportions as will give the desired tint. Ver- 
milion, raw and burnt sienna, are also employed to 
modify the shades. 

ROSEWOOD. 

Vermilion, Venetian red, a little scarlet lake, and 
white-lead. For ordinary work the scarlet lake may be 
dispensed with. 

bird's-eye maple and satin wood. 

^hite-lead mixed with a little yellow ochre, care be- 
ing taken not to make the ground of too dark a tint, as 
the varnish to be afterwards applied will still further 
darken it. All the colors for these light grounds must 
be rubbed quite smooth, and be well strained. 



330 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

DAEK OR OLD OAK. 

^ 1. Raw sienna, burnt umber, white-lead, and Vene- 
tian red. 2. Yellow ochre, Venetian red, and white- 
lead. 

LIGHT OR NEW OAK. 

DarJc. — Oxford ochre, white-lead and Venetian red, or 
chrome, yellow ochre, and white-lead. 

Light. — Yellow ochre and white-lead ; the desired tint 
is obtained by the use of more or less of the yellow ochre. 
The graining or top colors are generally the same as the 
ground, only darker. 

OAK GRAINING IN OIL. 

1. Vandyke brown and raw sienna for dark oak, or 
finely-ground burnt umber and raw sienna for a lighter 
tint, mixed with equal parts of turpentine and linseed 
oil. Add patent dryers. Lay this color on thinly and 
evenly with a large brush ; it does not dry very rapidly. 

This is the top color, or coat in which the figure 
er imitation of the markings of the wood are made. 
Care must be taken not to lay on too much color, or it 
is liable to have a dirty appearance. Stipple with a dry 
dusting brush, so as to distribute the color evenly over 
the work. As in real oak it is invariably found that one 
side of a slab is coarser than the other, this peculiarity 
of pattern must be imitated in the combing process. 
Take a coarse-cut gutta-percha comb, and draw it down 
one side of the panel, use a finer comb to complete it. 
This operation produces straight lines of the grain from 
top to bottom. Next take a fine steel comb, and go over 
all the previous combing ; in drawing the comb down, 
give it a short, quick, wavy motion, or move it diago- 
nally across the first lines, thus imitating the pores of 
the real wood. Cork combs may also be used, and some 
grainers use a coarse steel comb, with a fold of thin rag 
placed over the teeth. By a skillful combination of the 
combs, and a tasteful variation in their use, the different 
kinds of oak may be most successfully imitated. In 
graining joints of the various portions of a piece of a 
work, it must be remembered that in the real wood some 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 331 

of the grain would necessarily have a perpendicular di- 
rection, and another part would run horizontally, and 
that one part would appear lighter than another, owing 
to the different angles in which it would receive the rays 
of light. After combing, the figure, or veining, must 
be wiped out before the color is dry. Hold several thick- 
nesses of fine rag, or a piece of clean wash-leather over 
the thumb nail, wipe down a few veins, then move the 
rag or leather slightly, so as to present a clean surface 
for the next wipe. A piece of thin gutra-percha, sof- 
tened in warm water, and pressed to the shape of the 
thumb, may be used to preserve the nail, but cannot be 
relied on to remove the color so cleanly as the nail cov- 
ered with rag or leather ; it is useful for common work, 
as it protects the nail from injury and wear. After hav- 
ing wiped the figures, they must be softened in appear- 
ance by still further wiping the grain away from their 
edges with a small roll of clean rag, so as to imitate the 
appearance of the wood, where the grain is always dark- 
er than the parts next to it. When the oil color is dry 
it must be overgrained. (See below.) 

HAIR-WOOD. 

1. First lay on a coat of light gray, of white lead 
ground in boiled oil, add a little Prussian blue, and mix 
with turpentine. For ground color use the same paint 
made much thinner with turpentine, laid on as soon as 
the first coat is dry. The ground color must only be ap- 
plied on a small piece at a time, as it must be grained 
before it dries. For the graining use some of the 
ground color, to which add a little Prussian blue, apply 
this with a feather, in long veins. Overgrain with the 
ground color. 2. Mix white lead and turpentine, and 
add a little Prussian blue, for the ground color. For 
the graining color, Prussian blue and raw sienna ground 
in ale. When the ground is dry, lay on a thin coat of 
the graining color and soften ; put on the long grain 
with a mottler drawn across the work. Soften, and 
overgrain in a perpendicular but wavy figure. 

ROSEWOOD. 

Ground, chrome yellow, vermilion, and white lead. 



333 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

or as we have described above. (Sec grounds.) For 
the graining color grind ivory black and burnt sienna 
very fine, mix, and lay on, then soften. When 
dry, put on the top grain in a curly figure, with a small 
graining brush well filled with ivory black. Shade up 
the knots with a camel-hair brush, and finish with a 
glaze of rose-pink. 

OVERGRAINING. 

This operation is performed in the same manner both 
upon work which has been oil or spirit grounded in. In 
overgraining, water colors are used ; and, in order to 
make them adhere to the underlying graining, whether 
in spirit or in oil, it is necessary to prepare the work to 
receive them, otherwise they would run off the surface 
at once. One method is to rub dry powdered whiting 
quickly over the surface with a soft rag, removing su- 
perfluous powder afterwards, and the grainer can at once 
finish the work. Another plan, which is principally 
used when a large piece of work is in hand, is to rub a 
mixture of fullers' earth and water over the graining, 
and wait until it is perfectly dry before commencing to 
overgrain. Grind Vandyke brown, or burnt umber in 
water, and thin with equal proportions of water and 
table-beer. The color should be a trifle darker than the 
undergraining ; a little practice will teach the tints that 
are best suited to the various woods to be imitated. The 
color is applied by a wide hog brush, drawn over the 
work, generally ^n the direction of the veins formed by 
the combing. There are several descriptions of over- 
graining brushes in use ; those most generally employed 
are thin and flat, with occasional intervals between the 
tufts of hair. The knots and figures must be lightly 
touched up with the overgrainer, and the whole gone 
over quickly with a badger softening brush. The over- 
graining dries quickly, and the varnish may be then ap- 
plied, although it is well to wait some hours, so as not 
to run any risk of removing the graining color. Some- 
times a tolerably strong solution of soda with a little 
burnt sienna is used for the figures, applying the mix- 
ture where these are required, and then washing over 
the work with a sponge and water. Wherever the soda 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 333 

has been applied, the graining color will be removed. 
Go over the whole with a wash made of equal parts of 
table-beer and water, and then overgrain, as above de- 
scribed. As a general rule avoid harsh contrasts between 
the graining color and the ground. 2. In the mixing 
of oil graining color it is necessary that the color should 
work clean and free. Sometimes the color will work 
stiff and dirty, and in this state will not only produce 
dirty work, but will occupy thrice the time in rubbing 
in, compared with color properly mixed. Oil graining 
color also requires to be megilped — that is. oil color alone 
will not stand when it is combed ; the marks made with 
the comb will all run one into the other, and will thus 
be obliterated. To prevent this running, the color re- 
quires to be megilped, so that the comb marks will retain 
the exact form left by the comb. This is accomplished 
by the use of beeswax, soft soap, hard soap, lime water, 
whiting, and pure water. When beeswax is used, the 
best means of dissolving it is to cut the wax into thin 
shavings or shreds ; these are put into a suitable can half 
filled with pure linseed oil, into which a red-hot poker 
is plunged, and stirred well. This will dissolve the wax 
thoroughly, and mix it with the oil. 

When the wax is all dissolved, the vessel should be 
filled with either oil or turpentine, which further dilutes 
and mixes the wax, and serves also to prevent it from 
congealing, so that it may mix with the graining color 
thoroughly. This should be seen to, or else the wax is 
apt to remain in lumps; and when the color is spread 
upon the work, for graining, the wax will be spread un- 
equally, and will not dry in parts, so that it is abso- 
lutely necessary that the wax should be thoroughly 
mixed with the graining color to produce good work. 
If soft soap is used, it should first be thoroughly worked 
up on a palette or a board with either whiting or patent 
driers; this breaks up the soap, and amalgamates it with 
the driers, and it will then mix properly with the grain- 
ing color. Another method is to break up the soft soap 
in water to a thick froth or lather; in this state it may 
be beaten up with water and thoroughly mixed wath the 
oil color. When the lime water is used, about 2 lbs. of 
slaked lime should be thoroughly mixed in a pint can 



334 THE HOME MECHANIC. ^ 

full of water, and the lime allowed to settle; a portion 
of the water may then be added to the graining color, 
and the two well stirred together until they are thor- 
oughly amalgamated. If whiting is used, it should be 
ground in oil, and then mixed with the graining color. 
Pure water will also answer the purpose. The wax is 
the most effectual, but there are some objections to its 
use. On the whole, pure water is preferable, for if it is 
well mixed with the oil color, it megilps it swfficiently 
to hold the combing until it sets; the water then 
evaporates and leaves no injurious effects behind, and 
the projection of the grain is less than it is if any other 
medium is used. The most useful colors for mixing 
oak-graining color are raw and burnt Turkey umber, 
Oxford ochre, Vandyke brown, and burnt sienna. The 
first three, with the addition of ivory black, are all that 
is required for mixing any shade of graining color. 
For light oak or wainscot graining color, mix § 
linseed oil with j- turpentine; add a little Oxford 
ochre and raw Turkey umber in sufficient quan- 
tity, according to the shade required and amount of 
stuff mixed. Terebine or liquid driers should be added, 
the quantities being regulated according to whether the 
graining color is required to be quick or slow drying. A 
safe quantity to use, if the liquid drier is of the best 
quality, is about J oz. to a pint of color. This will 
cause the color to dry in about 7 or 8 hours, but twice 
the quantity may be used with safety if the color is re- 
quired to dry very quickly. Sugar of lead ground in 
oil may be used as a drier for graining colors, but the 
liquid drier is better. After adding the liquid driers, 
beat or stir well up together; add pure rain water in the 
proportion of -J pint of water to 3 pints of oil and turps; 
beat or stir up until the whole is thoroughly mixed 
together, after which strain through a fine strainer or a 
double fold of fine muslin. The color should be thinned 
until it works freely and lays on well, so that when the 
color is being brushed over the work to be grained, it 
will lay on evenly, and be easily spread, and will look 
clean and of one uniform shade of color. Care and 
cleanliness of working are necessary to the successful 
carrying out of this work; and it is essential that the 



THE HOME MEOHANIO. 835 

color, the brushes, and all working tools should be 
clean to begin with, and be kept clean. 

OAK IN" SPIRIT COLOR. 

This is less durable than oak graining in oil, and is 
not therefore so much used for outside work, but it 
does not require so long a time in its working, as it 
dries rapidly. For the graining color rub up whiting 
in turpentine, add enough burnt umber and raw sienna, 
dilute with turps, a little boiled oil, and gold size. 
Strain carefully, and it is ready for use. In laying this 
on, cover only a small part of the work at a time before 
combing, as it dries very quickly, and be careful to 
spread it evenly and thinly over the work. The combs 
used are made of steel, horn, or leather. After comb- 
ing the veins and removing any superfluous graining 
color from corners or small parts of the work, let it 
stand for a short time. The flower of the wood has 
next to be imitated, by removing some portions of the 
graining color with a small veining fitch. The spirit 
graining color when used for this purpose must have a 
little turpentine added to it; apply with the fitch where 
the flower is required, then rub the places quickly with 
a piece of old flannel, which will remove the graining 
color and show the light ground underneath. The 
light veins and half-lights are also obtained by similar 
means, either removing the graining color or merely 
smudging it aside over the veins. The overgraining is 
performed in the manner described for the oak graining 
in oil. 

GRAINING IN DISTEMPER. 

This process is now seldom used, although it stands 
exposure to the sunlight, without fading, for a great 
length of time. For oak ground, dissolve gum arable 
in hot water, and make a mixture of it with whiting, 
raw sienna, and Vandyke brown ground in beer. Color 
the work evenly, brush it down with a dry dusting 
brush, comb while the color remains wet, then let it get 
quite dry. Put in the veins with a small brush dipped 
in clean cold water. After a few seconds run a dry soft 
duster down the work to remove the color from the 



386 THE HOME MEOHANIO. 

veins. Then lay on a thin coat of Turkey umber 
ground in table-beer or ale, put on with an overgrain- 
ing brush. If too much gum is put in the color it is 
likely to crack and blister, while if there is not 
sufficient the veins will not be clearly marked by the 
wiping out. 

bird's-eye maple. 

1. Graining color — equal parts of raw sienna and 
burnt umber mixed in ale, of two thicknesses. First 
lay on an even coat of the thinner mixture, then with a 
smaller brush put in the darker shades, mottle and 
soften with a badger-hair brush. The eye is imitated 
by dabbing the color while still wet with the tops of the 
fingers. When dry, put on the top grain in the most 
prominent places, and shade the eyes with a little burnt 
sienna. Some grainers use small brushes called maple 
eye-dotters, instead of the fingers, for formiug the eyes. 
Various forms of brushes are used for the mottling; 
some consist of short camel hair closely set, while to 
give the wavy appearance hog-hair mottlers are used, 
with long hairs, against which the fingers are pressed as 
the brush is drawn over the work, causing it to assume 
a variety of pleasing curves. The lines to imitate the 
heart of the wood are put in with a small brush, and 
the outer lines parallel to the heart are formed with the 
overgraining brush. Overgraining brushes for maple 
consist of a number of small sable brushes mounted at 
a little distance from each other in a frame, and resem- 
bling a comb in its appearance. 2. Grind equal parts 
of raw and burnt sienna in a mixture of water and ale. 
Coat the work evenly with this color, then rub it down 
with a long piece of buff leather, cut straight at the 
edge and pressed closely against the work. Proceed for 
the imitation of the eyes and heart of the wood as be- 
fore directed. 3. For coarser work grind the raw and 
burnt sienna with a little of the patent driers, and then 
with boiled oil. Lay on an even coat, and rub down 
with a piece of buff leather. Soften, and when dry put 
on a top grain of burnt umber and raw sienna ground 
in ale. 4. Burnt umber or Vandyke brown laid on un- 
evenly, darker in some places than others, after the 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 837 

character of the wood; a coarse spono:e does for this 
purpose very well. When the color is disposed over the 
surface, it must be softened down with the badger-hair 
tool, and the knots put in with the end of a hog's-hair 
fitch, by holding the handle between the thumb and 
finger, and twisting it round; these knots may be after- 
wards assisted by a camel-hair pencil. A few small 
veins are frequently found in maple; these may be 
wiped off with a piece of wash-leather. When this is 
dry the second or upper grain may be put on; some of 
the first color diluted will do for this second grain. To 
put on this grain use the flat hog's-hair brush, and the 
hairs combed out to straighten or separate them. As 
s@on as the grain is put on, the softener should be 
passed lightly across the grain in one direction only; 
this will make one edge of the grain soft and the other 
sharp, as it occurs in the wood. After the second grain 
is dry it may be varnished. 

MAHOGAKY. , 

1. Vandyke brown and a little crimson lake ground 
in ale laid on, allowed to dry and then smoothed, forms 
the ground. Then lay on a second thicker coat, soften 
with a badger-hair brush, take out the lights while it 
is wet, and imitate the feathery appearance of mahog- 
any heart. Soften, and top grain with Vandyke brown 
laid on with an overgraining brush of flat hog-hair 
combed into detached tufts. In softening, be careful 
not to disturb the under color. 2. G-rind burnt sienna 
and Vandyke brown in ale, lay on a coat, mottle with a 
camel-hair mottler, and soften. When dry, overgrain 
as above. 

SATIN- WOOD. 

1. Graining color. — Equal parts of raw umber and 
raw sienna, a little whiting and burnt sienna, all ground 
in ale. Color evenly, and soften, then mottle and 
feather same as for mahogany. Soften, and allow to 
dry ; overgrain with the same color. 2 Grind raw 
sienna and whiting in ale very thin, and color the sur- 
face. Soften while wet, and take out the lights with a 



338 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

mottling brush ; when dry, overgrain with the same 
color applied with a flat briisli. For other graining 
directions see Haney's Painters' Manual. 

MARBLING ON WOOD. 

VERDE ANTIQUE. 

If the work is new, lay on a coat of dark lead oil col- 
or. When dry, smooth with glass-paper, and lay on a 
coat of black paint. When the ground is dry, mix 
some white lead with water and a little beer. Lay 
this on in large streaks. Eill up the spaces left 
with veins of lampblack, finely ground in beer, thus 
covering the whole surface of the work. While still 
wet soften with a badger-hair brush, so as to cause the 
veins to run into one another. On the darkest parts of 
the work lay dabs of white, carelessly applied, to imi- 
tate fossils, and dab over the light parts of the work 
with the black color for the same purpose. With a thin 
flat graining brush, or a feather, dipped in the white, 
form small veins over the black ; a few dark blue wavy 
veins may also be put on. When dry, glaze with a thin 
coat of raw sienna and Prussian blue, ground in spirit 
of turpentine and mixed in copal varnish. A little em- 
erald green added here and there hightens the effect. 

ORIENTAL VERDE ANTIQUE. 

Lay on a ground of black in oil. Mix white lead in 
oil, thinned with turpentine for the graining color. Lay 
this on in broad transparent veins of irregular depth of 
color, and while wet dab it over with a piece of wash- 
leather in different parts to imitate fossils ; then with a 
small piece of cork, twisted round on the work between 
the finger and thumb, produce a number of little spiral 
figures of various sizes and shapes. Cut notches on the 
top of a feather, dip it in the white, and pass it over 
the black ground in zigzag and fantastic veins, with oc- 
casional sharp angles. Let all the work get quite dry, 
and then glaze with green, in some parts with Prussian 
blue, in others with raw sienna, leaving some portions 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 339 

untouclied. "When dry, wash with beer, dip a feather 
into the whiting ground, and draw fine veins. To fin- 
ish, give a coat of glaze, made of a little Prussian blue 
and raw sienna, mixed in equal parts of boiled oil and 
turpentine, leaving some of the white veins unglazed. 

JASPEB MAEBLE. 

Mix the ground the same as for mahogany, with red 
lead, Venetian red, and a little chrome yellow, thinned 
with equal parts of oil and turpentine ; lake or vermil- 
ion may be substituted for the Venetian red, if a bril- 
liant tint is desired. While the ground is wet dab on 
some spots of white, soften with a softening brush, and 
other colors may be applied in the same manner. When 
dry, put on the veins with a camel-hair brush. 

BLACK AlTD GOLD MARBLE. 

Ground, deep ivory black. Put on veins of white 
lead, yellow ochre, and burnt and raw sienna, with a 
camel-hair brush. The spaces between the veins must 
be glazed over with a thin coat of gray or white, over 
which pass a few white veins. The veins may also be 
put on with gold leaf. Another method is to have a 
yellow ground, streaked with broad ribbons of black, in 
which fine veins are obtained by drawing a sharp piece 
of wood along them while wet, so as to expose the yel- 
low beneath. 

SIElfNA MAEBLE. 

1. Ground, Oxford ochre and white lead. Use burnt 
and raw sienna, white, black, and a little lake, for mar- 
bling. These colors should be laid on as a transparent 
glaze, and marked and softened while wet. The colors 
should be properly softened with a badger brush. 
2. Ground, raw sienna or yellow ochre. When dry, 
mix raw sienna with white lead, have ready also some . 
white paint, put in broad transparent tints of white and 
yellow, and while wet blend them together with a soft- 
ener. Mix Venetian red and a little black, and put in 
some broad veins in the same direction as the patchy 
tints run : for the darker veins take a mixture of Vene* 



340 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

fcian i-ed, lake, and black, and draw them over the first 
layer of veins with a feather, in fine threads, running; 
to a center, and in transparent veins in different direc- 
tions. Mix some Prussian blue and lake, and put in 
the darkest and finest veins over those before laid on. 
Put in a few touches of burnt sienna between the fine 
veins, which are formed into small masses. All the 
colors should be ground in spirit of turpentine and 
mixed with sufficient gold size to bind them. 

DOVE MARBLE. 

Ground, lead color, of which it will be necessary to 
give two or three coats. If the work is new, let it dry 
hard^ rub it smooth with fine glass-paper after each 
coat, and do not rub the paint off the sharp edges of the 
wood. For the marbling, take lead color, such as used 
for the ground, thin it with turpentine, and rub a light 
coat over a small part of the work ; and with a whitish 
color form the small specks or fossil remains. Proceed, 
piece by piece, till the whole surface is covered, being 
careful to paint but a small part of the ground at once, 
so that the colors may have sufficient time to blend to- 
gether while wet, otherwise the work will appear harsh. 
Then with a small sash tool, put in faint, broad veins 
of the thin ground color, and numerous very fine veins 
over the whole surface of the work, crossing each other 
in every direction. Then make the color a little lighter 
by adding white lead, and with a feather pass over the 
broad veins in the same direction, forming streams of 
threads. With thin white, and Avith a camel-hair pen- 
cil go partly over the same vein with short thick touches, 
then with a fine striping pencil. When the work is 
hard, it should be smoothed with very fine glass-paper 
before being varnished. The first layer of veins should 
be very faint, so as to be scarcely perceptible; for, as the 
lighter shades are put on, the former veins will appear 
sunk from the surface of the work, which will give a 
good effect where the work is exposed to close inspec- 
tion. 

BLUE AlTD GOLD MARBLE. 

Ground, a light blue; when dry, take blue with a 
small piece of white-lead and some Prussian blue, and 



THE HOME ^lECHANIC. 341 

dab on in patches, leaving portions of the ground to 
show between. Blend together with a softener; next 
put on white veins in every direction, leaving large open 
spaces to be filled up with a pale yellow or gold paint. 
Finish with line white irregular threads. 

ITALIAN" MARBLE. 

Ground, a light buff. For marbling, mix stiff in 
boiled oil, white-lead, Oxford ochre, and a little ver- 
milion; grind burnt sienna very fine in boiled oil, and 
put it into another vessel; mix pure white stiff in oil, 
and keep this also separate. Thin these colors with tur- 
pentine, and have a brush for each. Take the buff 
brush moderately full of color, and dab it on in patches, 
varying as much as possible; take another brush and fill 
in the spaces between with sienna. With a softener 
blend the edges together, making them as soft as possi- 
ble. Draw a few thin white veins over the work with 
a hair pencil, run in a few thin lines of sienna, and 
soften. 

BLACK AND WHITE MARBLE. 

White ground, and with dark veins, put on with a 
marbling crayon, and softened while the ground is wet. 
Or, when the ground is dry, cover it with a thin coat of 
white-lead, and put the veins in with a camel-hair pen- 
cil. Blend while wet. 

GRANITE. 

1. Gray ground, with white or black spots. 2. Vene- 
tian and white for the ground, with white, black, and 
vermilion spots. The spots are put on in several ways; 
a sponge may be charged with the marbling color and 
dabbed on the work, or a common brush may be struck 
against a stick held at a little distance from the work, 
so as to throw off blots and spots of color. 

PORPHYRY. 

1. Ground, purple-brown and rose-pink. Grind yer- 
milion and white-lead separately in turpentine, and add 
a little gold size to each color to bind it. More turpen- 



342 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

tine must be added before the color is applied. When 
the ground is dry, fill a large brush with vermilion, 
squeeze out nearly all the color by scraping the brush on 
the edge of the palette knife; hold a rod in the left 
hand, strike the handle of the brush against it, so as to 
throw small red spots on to the work till the surface is 
covered. Make the color lighter by adding white-lead, 
and use as before. Then with clear thin white throw 
on very fine spots, and when dry put in a few white 
veins across the work. This marble may be imitated in 
distemper in precisely the same manner as in oil. 
2. The ground is Venetian red, with a little vermilion 
and white. For marbling, add a little more white to 
the ground color, and sprinkle over the first coat. 
When dry, repeat the splashing with a mixture of 
Venetian red and vermilion, and then with white in 
very fine spots. Form opaque white veins across the 
work, and transparent threads in various directions. 
This must be done when the work is dry and hard, with 
a sable pencil, and the threads drawn with a feather. 
For each separate color use a different brush. 

VENEERING. 

HOW TO PBEPAEB THE GROUNDWORK. 

The groundwork forms a very important part in 
veneered work, and if not properly selected and treated, 
it will go hollow and all sorts of shapes, and will spoil 
work that may be done excellently in all other parts. 
Wherever possible, the ground to be veneered upon 
should be the heart side, as shown in the following cut. 




If veneered upon the reverse side, it is certain to go hol- 
low, as the fibers are more easily bent on that side of 
the wood. All knots and imperfections should be cut 
out, and pieces of the same kind of wood let-in in their 
places. But in common work, where economy of time 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 343 

is a consideration, mix plaster-of-Paris and glue to- 
gether, and fill lip all holes; it will soon set, and when 
hard, the surface should be made perfectly level with 
the toothing-plane, For soft porous wood, it is as well 
to make a thin size with glue and water, and put over 
it before veneering, letting it dry. On hard close- 
grained wood this is not required. If endway wood is 
to be veneered, well glue it, rubbing in with the fingers, 
so that the wood may absorb as much glue as possible, 
and veneer when dry. 

HOW TO PEEPAEE VENEERS BEFORE LAYIIJG. 

Mahogany Veneer, — This is the easiest to manage, as 
it requires neither drying nor flattening, but is put on 
just as it is received. If very badly sawn, it must be 
toothed, until the saw-marks are nearly out, before 
laying. 

Satm Wood, King Wood, Manilla Wood, Zebra Wood, 
Ehony, California Laurel and Snake Wood should all 
be treated in the same manner as mahogany. 

Bird^s-Eye Maple Veneer, — If sawn veneers, they 
should be well shrunk between hot cauls previous to 
laying. 

Tulip Wood, Purple Wood, Coroma^idel Wood, and 
Yacca Wood should be treated the same as bird's-eye 
maple. 

Rosewood Veneer. — If new wood, it should be held 
over a shaving fire, and kept moTiiig quickly until the 
gum begins to boil out of the pores of the wood; then 
place between two cauls, and hand-screw down till dry; 
tooth and veneer. Knife-cut veneers do not require this 
treatment. 

Wai7iscot or Straight Grained Oak Veneer, — The same 
as mahogany. 

Thuya Wood. — The same as maple. 

Pollard or Knotted Oak. — Well shrink between hot 
cauls, and tooth all to a thickness as nearly as possible, 
and joint up with a buhl-saw. Place two pieces of 
veneer together, and follow the figure of the wood with 
the saw. When the veneer is made to the size required. 



344 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

place all the pieces as fitted, and fasten them down on 
board with a few veneer- pins; glue some strips of paper 
over the joints, and let them remain till dry. If a 
large top is to be made, it is best done in two or three 
parts, and jointed together at the last. Where much 
work of this kind is done, a marqueterie-cutter's " don- 
key" should be made; this is like a harness-maker's 
clamp, fixed on the end of a sawing-stool, with a string 
through the top, and secured to a piece of wood at the 
bottom of the stool, so that the pressure of the foot is 
sufficient to grip the veneer for sawing, and is instantly 
released by raising the foot. After jointing-up as de- 
scribed, take out the veneer-pins, and fill up any little 
Imperfections in the under side with glue and yellow 
ocher; then lay with a caul. 

Plain Walnut Veneers should be treated like maho- 
gany. 

Burr Walnut Veneers. — First damp all over with a 
wet sponge, then cut out the required size for the work; 
it will cut very easy when damped, and not split. A 
shoemaker's common cutting-knife is very useful for 
a veneer knife, and can be bought for a few cents, 
^.fter catting out, place between hot cauls, and when 
cold it will be well flattened and shrunk. Then fill up 
all holes, and joint together. If the holes should be 
made round or square, the joint will show; they should 
be cut an irregular shape, like the figure of ihe wood. 
After the pieces are fitted in, glue paper on the back; 
and when dry, if the joint should n=ot be quite close in 
any part, just damp the place with the finger before 
veneering. It is best to lay this sort of wood with a 
caul where possible, in which case a sheet of paper 
should be placed all over the veneer before the caul is 
put on, as the glue will come through every part. ISome 
size the veneer before laying; but this is a waste of time, 
as, when the caul is removed, the glue will be found to 
have penetrated the veneer like a sponge. In cleaning 
off* flat work, time is saved by the use of an iron 
smoothing or panel plane. For shaped work, just damp 
witli a wet rag well rubbed with soap, and it will be 
found to scrape up as easy as possible. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 845 

Aniboyna Ve^ieers. — Treat similar to mahogany, but 
joint up like pollard-oak veneers. 

LAYING VENEEKS. 

The introduction of machinery for the purpose of 
cutting veneers has been a material saving both in the 
cost and wear of furniture, while it has enabled the 
workman to extend to a surface of thousands of feet 
any fine piece of timber he may meet with, which, be- 
fore the invention of that machinery, he could not have 
extended to as many hundreds of feet. The value to 
which a single log of fine timber is turned by means of 
the improved machinery — either the knife or saw — is 
really incredible to those who have not witnessed the 
operation. When the cabinet-maker has occasion to use 
veneers, he has only to purchase a log of the wood, 
which suits his purpose, send it to the mill, and he has 
it returned cut up to the required thickness in a very 
short time, and at a trifling expense. 

There are many persons unconnected with the trade 
who are of opinion that solid wood makes the best fur- 
niture. This is a great mistake. In most cases, solid 
wood is used only as a matter of economy, especially in 
walnut furniture. The solid wood does not cost as much 
per foot as good veneer, leaving out of the question the 
cost of the groundwork wood, the glue, and the extra 
labor in veneering. 

Veneer is used by cabinet-makers to give strength and 
beauty to their work. The most rare and beautiful 
woods are cut into veneers. The fall of a piano jointed 
up and veneered on both sides has double the strength 
of one jointed in plain solid wood without being 
veneered, to say nothing of its beautiful appearance; so 
are panels, fretwork, &c. While the cabinet article is 
kept free from damp, and in such a state that the glue 
is not dissolved, the covering of beautiful wood does not 
wear out; and thus, with a vast saving in the more 
cos cly material, there is the same durability as if nothing 
but that material had been used for the whole. There 
is another advantage in the use of fancy woods on the 
surface, namely, that the body of the article, in numer- 



346 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ous pieces of furniture upon which the fancy wood is 
laid, can be much better put together than if it had 
formed the external portion. When mahogany was 
first introduced as a cabinet timber, it was used solid 
for chairs, tables, &c. When, however, its great value 
became known — the ease with which it can be worked, 
the improvement polish or varnish effects in its color, 
the firmness with which it holds when glued, and the 
improvement time gives it when properly taken care of 
— good mahogany was considered far too valuable a 
timber to be used solid; and it began to be employed as 
the staple timber for veneering. Other woods, some 
lighter and others darker, were used for borders and 
ornaments, but mahogany for the body of the work; and 
when it came to be so employed, a great revolution was 
effected in the art of cabinet-making. 

Veneering, whether done in mahogany or any other 
wood, was at first very expensive. The veneers were 
cut by hand, and were as thick as what we now call 
bead-stuff; they were also of unequal thickness, the 
wood being mangled by the operation of cutting, and 
the finest pieces — those, namely, which are fine figured, 
cross-grained, or have the fibers across their thickness — 
were always in danger of being broken. < 

VEN-EERING HAMMER, ETC. 

We will now describe the different methods of laying 
veneers, beginning with work laid with the veneering 
hammer, the best and cheapest form of which is shown 
below. It can be made of any kind of wood. There 
is a piece of hoop-iron, an eighth of an inch thick and 
the edge rounded so that it will slide easy, fitted in the 
bottom (see A., page 77). Large work, such as a side- 
board top, if veneered with the hammer, should have 
the groundwork made rounding on the faced side by 
well sizing it with thin size, and as the veneer shrinks, 
it will pull it quite level again in drying. Before com- 
mencing to glue, have a couple of warm flat-irons ready 
in case they are wanted, as very much depends on the tem- 
perature where the veneering is to be done. When all 
is ready, wet a piece of sponge in some size, which is 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 347 

better than water, and wipe over the outside of the ve- 
neer (if a large surface, il is better done in twice) ; then 
glue the groundwork with moderately thin glue. When 
the surface is glued, put the veneer on in its place quick- 
ly, and rub the hammer up and down straight, to press 
all the air out from between ; then commence crossway, 
placing one hand on the end of the hammer, and the 
other at the extreme end of the handle, with a wriggling 
motion toward the edge, which follow up quickly till 
the surface is gone over. If the glue flows freely the 
veneer is generally down ; but if not, it must be wiped 
over with the sponge again, and the irons used, which 
will make the glue warm ; then use the hammer again, 
as the glue must be got out. It can be easily ascertained 




Veneering Hammeb. 

whether the veneer is down by tapping it over with the 
end of the veneering-hammer handle ; and if a faulty 
place be found, it must be made all right. Knife-cut 
veneers in wainscot oak, bird's-eye maple, and all simi- 
lar light woods, are best laid with the hammer, as they 
lay very easy, and the glue does not penetrate right 
through them as it does with a caul ; but if a caul be 
used, the glue should be mixed with flake-white to the 
consistency of white paint. 

The next method of laying veneers is with a caul, 
which is a much cleaner way than using the hammer. 
The caul is usually made of wood about an inch thick ; 
it must be larger than the work to be veneered; and it 
must be planed up true on both sides. Zinc cauls are 
sometimes used, of about a quarter of an inch substance ; 



348 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

they last longer than wood, and the glue, if any should 
come through the veneer, does not adhere so firmly to 
zinc as it does to wood. In English shops a common 
practice is to soap the caul to prevent glue sticking. 

When all is prepared, see that there is a good fire to 
heat the cauls, and while the caul is getting hot, soak 
the under side of the groundwork with warm water, and 
rub it well in with the hand, letting it stand a few min- 
utes ; then glue the surface, care being taken to leave no 
place uncovered with glue, which should not be thick, 
and let it stand for a time that the steam may evaporate ; 
then lay the veneer on, and fasten in a couple or so of 
places with a veneer-pin ( a piece of wire like half an 
inch cut off a common pin ), or, if veneer-pins are not 
to be obtained, use fine tacks ; then place the caul on and 
screw down quickly, either in a press or with handscrews. 

In large manufactories, where steam-power is used, 
there is very little difficulty in veneering flat surfaces. 
The workman is only required to glue his work and fas- 
ten the veneer on in its place with a few veneer pins ; it 
is then taken to the press, which is a large iron box with 
screws and clamps on the top for pressing the work down. 
The veneer is laid face down on the box, and the screws 
just brought to a gentle pressure ; the steam is turned 
on inside the box, the heat of which soon causes the glue 
to flow ; the screws are then tightened, and the steam 
allowed to escape. The metal top will soon cool, and 
the work can then be removed. This plan is particularly 
useful for large surfaces such as loo-table tops, or ward- 
robe ends, which by this process can be done with as 
much ease as a drawer-front. 

Shops which do not possess steam-power frequently 
. use a press consisting of a framework, with the screws, 
etc., and a thick iron plate heated by a number of gas- 
jets underneath ; when suflBciently heated, the gas is 
turned off and the plate allowed to cool, when the work 
can be removed. 

The next method is to lay veneers without a caul, as 
practiced by the cheap-furniture makers. To do this, 
soak the under side of the groundwork with water, as 
before described ; then rub a piece of common soap on 
the outside surface of the veneer ; then glue and fix the 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 349 

veneer in its place with a veneer-pin at each corner (the 
pins are doubled over when driven in sufficient to hold ; 
the holes do not show when taken out, as a tack would); 
then take two of these veneered pieces of work and heat 
well before the fire ; place both together, face to face, 
and put in the press or handscrew down. A dozen pieces 
may be done in the same way with a little help in 
making them hot ; but the pieces should be all of the 
same size, and placed exactly even when screwed down. 
Chiffonier ends, small cabinets, panels, &c., are usually 
done in this way. The glue for this purpose should be 
thin. 

HOW TO VENEER IRREGULAE SURFACES. 

When the surface is irregular, it is impossible to have 
recourse to the caul or hammer ; the way to proceed is 
as follows : Get a piece of very close canvas, the best 
that can be procured, and make a sort of bag or pillow 
about an inch and a half or two inches thick, and fill it 
with dry sand ; then put it upon a hot plate, constantly 
turning it until thoroughly hot through ; then glue, and 
fix the veneer with a veneer-pin or two, and cover it with 
paper ; then place the sand bag on ( a fiat board on the 
top of the sand bag ), and screw down. The best screws 
for this purpose are the common handscrews ; they are 
made with a single screw like a small cramp, and can be 
had in different sizes. A piece of wood should be fitted 
very near to the hollows, which should be screwed down 
first. 

HOW TO VENEER ROUND OR CIRCULAR WORK. 

Make a kind of windlass to turn with a handle ; fix 
the work on a spindle, and have some one to turn. If a 
straight shaft like a circular washstand, or circular ped- 
estal, is to be veneered, first glue the groundwork, then 
place on the veneer, and fix with veneer-pins, letting the 
veneers overlap each other ; put a straightedge across, 
and cut down for the joint with a veneer-knife ; then re- 
move the pieces and press the joint up. Care should be 
taken to have a piece of webbing ready (ordinary chair- 
web will do), one end of which tack on, and pull mod- 



350 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



erately tight while the handle is being turned. Keep 
the edge of the web up close until the veneer is covered ; 
then tack the end down, and damp the webbing over 
slightly with a wet sponge, which will cause it to pull 
very tight. Place the work before a good shaving-fire, 
and keep it turned until warm all round ; then let it 
stand to dry, and the veneer will be found to be down. 
If a faulty place is discovered after removing the web- 
bing, apply a warm iron to the part, and rub it a little 
with the veneering-hammer, and it will be all right. No 
water should be used, and the iron should be only mod- 
erately warm. In veneering small columns, etc., the ve- 
neer should have thin canvas or calico glued over the face 
side before laying, otherwise there is a danger of the ve- 
neer splitting in the laying. 

VENEEEIITG MOLDIIJJ-GS IN" STKAIGHT AND SWEEPWORK. 

Veneering moldings has been a special branch in the 
cabinet and pianoforte trades for some years past. Most 
difficult moldings are now veneered, which some years 
ago would not have been attempted, such as a thumb 
molding with a square and hollow underneath, as used 
for pianoforte tops. This is laid in one piece, and with 
the thinnest knife-cut veneer ; any other sort would not 
do. Metal cauls are chiefly used, as they make the edges 
so much better. Before laying, the groundwork is well 
coated with glue and color made as near like the wood 
as possible, because sometimes, in the cleaning up, the 
workman is apt to go through, and if the groundwork 
should be the color of the veneer used, it is scarcely seen, 
especially in dark woods. Previous to laying, the veneer 
is made a little damp, and the outside well rubbed with 
soap, which keeps the caul from holding it, allows it to 
slide into its place without splitting, and in drying pre- 
vents its sticking to the caul. The thumb moldings on 
loo, occasional, card, and kidney shaped table-tops are 
usually veneered. A frame is made to the different 
shaped tops, to stand about an inch from the molding, 
and stout canvas is tacked on the under side of it. T'he 
frame is then screwed down on the top. The veneer 
should be previously jointed, and a piece of strong writ- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 351 

ing paper glued on the outside of each joint to hold it 
together. Glue the work, and fasten the veneer in its 
place with veneer pins ; then draw the canvas from the 
frame tightly over it, and tack it underneath the top. 

It is well not to glue more than a foot or eighteen 
inches at a time, as feie glue soon chills. When all is 
down, just damp over with a sponge, as it causes the 
canvas to pull very tight ; when dry, the top can be ve- 
neered. The square to the molding is formed by cutting 
off the top veneer with a cutting-gauge, and finished 
with a square-edged file. Ogee moldings for cor- 
nices, etc., can be easily veneered without a caul 
when properly constructed, as one will lay the other 
if the following plan is carefully followed : The outside 
of the veneer should be well rubbed with soap before 
placing together, to prevent sticking, or a piece of thin 
paper laid between. When sawn veneers of very fine wood 
are used, the best plan is to clean up the face side before- 
hand, and glue over it a piece of very thin canvas or mus- 
lin. The glue must be very thin, and the veneer allowed 
to dry before laying. If this plan is not adopted with 
fine wood, it is almost certain to split when being forced 
into its place. The muslin can easily be removed when 
the veneer is laid, by damping it over with a sponge ; 
after remaining a few minutes it can be stripped off. 
The workman must use his own judgment about follow- 
ing this plan for all moldings where sawn veneers are 
used ; it must entirely depend upon whether the wood is 
tough or brittle, but it is always best to err oh the safe 
side. Another plan for small moldings, such as are used 
for friezes for steamers, small cabinets, etc., is to work a 
hollow i]i a piece of inch stuff of two inches and three- 
quarters wide. A quarter of an inch is marked off on 
each side, and the hollow worked in the middle to about 
three-quarters of an inch deep ; a piece of stuff is then 
worked and fitted to the hollow, and both are veneered. 
One will lay the other. When dry, each one is cut down 
the center with a circular saw, converting the two into 
four moldings. This plan is frequently followed in 
cheap work for cornice moldings. 



352 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



MARQUETERIE WORK. 



Marqueterie consists in representing flowers, animalg, 
landscapes, and other objects in their proper tints, and 
includes all those geometrical designs to which the speci- 
mens of parqueterie or inlaid floors belong. Inlaying 
with colored woods became very general in England in 
the latter part of the sixteenth century, the ornament 
being cut out and filed to the shape, and then let in 
with chisels, gouges, etc. The same system was pur- 
sued until veneers were introduced, which were of 
moderate thickness, when a fine saw took the place of 
chisels and gouges. It was then called marqueterie, and 
was brought into England from the Continent. The 
old books of design of orna-mental inlays for cabinet 
work, and th-e London cabinet-maker's price-books for 
piecework published by the London Society of Cabinet- 
makers in 1811, do not contain any mention of marque- 
terie or buhl work; it may be presumed, therefore, that 
the workmen of that period were not acquainted with 
these arts to any extent. 

The work is supplied to the cabinet-maker from the 
marqueterie cutter, who makes the cutting of buhl and 
marqueterie his trade. Cabinet-makers, as a rule, are 
not expected to do the cutting; but it is well to know 
something of the methods, it being very easy, and is 
well paid; but it requires some education beforehand to 
become expert. A marqueterie cutter who can cut and 
design his own work must be a good freehand draughts- 
man, and understand the harmony of color, so as to 
arrange the different woods with effect. We will first 
explain the making of colored lines, which is the most 
simple part of this word. Colored lines are extensively 
used in fancy cabinet work, and sometimes form the 
sole ornament. They can be easily arranged, at the 
will of the designer, to make a variety of designs of geo- 
metrical patterns. The principal tool required is a fine 
circular saw, fitted as described further on. For mak- 
ing single lines of white holly or any other wood where 
a single veneer is used, or for the making of chess or 
draught squares in veneer, etc., etc. , the saw should be 
from three to three and a half inches in diameter, and 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 353 

with a fine dovetail saw-tootn, which will be found to 
answer the purpose well. First shoot the edge of the 
veneer, and then cut off with the saw the width re- 
quired : about three or four-feet lengths will be found 
the most useful. 

We will now give a wider line, say three-eighths in 
width, and of a pattern much in use. The woods re- 
quired are black veneer, white holly veneer, and inch or 
three-quarter tulip -wood. A six or seven-inch saw 
should be used. Cut the veneer three feet long and six 
inches wide; take four pieces of white and two of 
black, and make two gluings, placing the black in the 
middle; then put both together, with a piece of paper 
between, and place between hot cauls, and handscrew 
down till dry. A. block of wood should then be made 
of the angle of 45 degrees, and fixed on the table parallel 
to the saw, the bottom edge to touch the saw. Take 
the tulip-wood and cut off one end to the angle given; 
then place a piece of wood, the thickness of the pieces 
to be cut off, under the block to set it up; after which, 
set the fence of the saw to one-eighth, and commence to 
cut off as many pieces as it will take to cover the veneer. 
Take the veneers from the cauls, and glue the pieces of 
tulip- wood across the veneer, pressing each piece up 
close to a joint, until the surface is covered. Put it by, 
and when dry, level the top of the tulip- wood and glue 
the other veneer on; or the tulip-wood can be cut off 
square — it will make equally as good a line; and when 
dry, face and slice off in veneers ready for use. In this 
way the Mosaic bandings are made which are introduced 
into madiaeval work. Of course a block must be made 
to each separate angle, according to the design, and all 
the pieces glued in the same manner as previously de- 
scribed, and cut off into veneers with the circular saw, 
which will be found of the greatest possible service for 
this kind of work. Kosettes, patras, center-pieces, and 
bandings are all made in the same manner. It would 
be as well, perhaps, to remind the workman that the de- 
signs should all show plankways; if endway wood is 
worked into a pattern, it is liable to crumble away in 
the cleaning off, and so spoil the work. 

We wow come to the cutting of marqueterie, Th? 



35i T^HE HOME MECHANIC. 

tools required are a buhl-saw and frame: the saws are as 
fine as a horse-hair, and can be bought at the tool-shops. 
When the design consists of flowers or scroll-work, some 
marqueterie cutters take the design off on tracing paper, 
and glue or paste it on the groundwork veneer, while 
those less particular about their designs use printed pat- 
terns which they can buy, pasting them on the pattern. 
They are so cheap that their destruction is of no conse 
quence. Others prick holes very close together on every 
line to be cut, the design being then laid upon the 
groundwork veneer, and dusted over with a pounce-bag; 
care should be taken not to let the design slip, or the 
pattern will be spoiled. The different colored veneers 
are then temporarily glued at the back of the ground- 
work where required, and a small hole made with a fine 
bradawl on one of the lines to be cut, or in any part 
which is not conspicuous. The work is then placed in 
a marqueterie clamp or donkey, which is made like a 
harness-maker's clamp, to tighten by means of a treadle, 
for hand sawing. There are a multitude of de- 
vices for accomplishing this work by machines. These 
machines are now for sale everywhere and need no spe- 
cial description. They are known under the general 
name of scroll-saws or bracket-saws, and the saw-blade, 
being unloosed from its handle, is thrust through the 
hole. The saw-handle is then fixed, and the material is 
held loosely by the left hand, and the workman proceeds 
with his sawing. He then dexterously turns the saw 
and the material about, so as to make the tortuous cut 
correspond with the lines of the design. When cutting 
out, the saw will frequently require to be lubricated with 
bees-wax; grease must not be used, as it spoils the work. 
In marqueterie, much depends on skill in using the 
saw. When the sawing is done, place all the parts 
together to form the design, and select those to be 
shaded. Shading is accomplished in the following man- 
ner: A box or tray made of sheet-iron is filled with dry 
clean sand about two inches deep, and placed on the top 
of the stove; the heat of the sand should be frequently 
tested by a piece of waste veneer being thrust vertically 
into the sand; if sufficiently hot, the point deepest in 
the sand will be lound to be dark, and gradually soft- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 355 

ened down as it leaves the sand. "When the pieces which 
require shading are finished, all the parts which form 
the design should be placed together, and a piece of 
paper glued or pasted over the whole. It is then ready 
for use. 

This kind of work is best laid with a caul, and in 
cleaning off no paper cork should be used in papering 
up, as it will wear away the softest wood, and leave the 
hardest standing up, which will spoil the surface. It is 
best to use a flat piece of pine for a rubber for all 
marqueterie, buhl, or inlaid work, and a good surface is 
then preserved. 

IMITATIOlf MARQUETERIE. 

These are printed veneers, backed with paper, look 
very well, and are cheap. The veneer, ready printed, 
can be purchased. It is paper-backed. 

BUHL WOEK. 

Buhl work consists of various designs similar to 
marqueterie; but instead of wood, metal is used, or tor- 
toise shell, ivory, brass, silver, or a combination of all 
these substances. It is cut out and fitted together with 
a fine saw, in the same manner as marqueterie. When 
cutting out, it is best to hold the saw a little on the 
bevel, so as to allow of the piece fitting in and filling up 
the thickness of the saw-cut, to make a good joint when 
finished; and marqueterie, where only two colored woods 
are used, should be done in the same manner; but if 
there be more thicknesses for different colors, it is best 
to cut through square, it being difficult to cut on the 
bevel to fit when there are more than two thicknesses. 
Buhl work should be laid with a caul. The best glue 
should be used, and boiled for a week or two, Avhen it 
will be much stronger than if only just boiled. About 
a tablespoonful of Venice turpentine to each jDint of 
glue should be added when boiling, keeping it well 
stirred. This will be found to be one of the best sub- 
stances for holding wood and meial together. When 
the veneering is done, it must be cleaned off in the fol- 



356 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

lowing rather tedioiu and expensive manner: First go 
over the surface with a large flat file; then get a piece 
of pumice-stone, and, after grinding it to a flat face, 
dip it in linseed oil, and rub over the surface until it is 
quite level, finishing off with fine-flour emery-paper. 
The engraver will then engrave the parts required, and 
the work will be ready for polishing. Employers are 
very careful to whom they intrust this kind of work, as 
the materials are very expensive; and unless the work- 
man has had experience and become efficient, he has a 
difficulty in finding employment in this special branch 
of the trade. 

OEMOLU. 

Ormolu is the name given by the French to the mold- 
insjs and ornaments in *' fire-gilt," which are used in 
connection with buhl and marqueterie furniture. Or- 
molu proper is a metal composed of fifty-eight per cent, 
of copper and forty-two of brass. This composition is 
particularly well adapted to receive ^'fire-gilding,'^ the 
ormolu being entirely covered by the gold plating. It 
also gives a handsome finish to rosewood or ebonized 
furniture. In order to meet the demand for inexpen- 
sive furniture, an imitation of the fire-gilt ornaments is 
made of lacquered brass metal of the cheapest sort, and 
is very perishable. The moldings or ornaments are fixed 
in their positions by brass pins, or fine brass screws, 
placed so that the heads are not conspicuous. The dif- 
ference between the imitation and the genuine article is 
readily perceived. 

INLAYING. 

The method usually adopted in solid work for the cut- 
ting in is as follows : If lines are required, cut them in 
with a double-tooth cutting-gauge, the cutters set exact- 
ly to the width of the line, and then with a router re- 
move the wood to the depth required. When the inlay 
is of an intricate pattern, place it in its position, and 
mark round it with a fine marking-awl ; then take the 
veneer-knife, the handle grasped by the left hand, and 
place the point of it on the line in an upright position, 
and commence to tap on the back with a hammer, and 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 357 

at the same time guiding it carefully in the direction in- 
tended. When cut round, remove the inside partly out 
with a chisel, and finish to the depth required with the 
old-woman's tooth. 

In veneered work, the inlaying can be accomplished 
in much less time. If the work to be inlaid is laid with 
a caul, the caul should not remain on longer than an 
hour and a half. If the inlay consists of lines or a ge- 
ometrical design, cut them in at once, as the glue will 
soon dry, and if allowed to dry before cutting in, the 
groundwork will pull out with the veneer, and it will be 
found impossible to make so good a job of it, besides 
taking three times as long to do. If the work is laid 
with a hammer, cut in directly the veneer is down. If 
a piece of marqueterie is introduced, joint it into the 
veneer before it is laid, and lay with a caul. Work of 
this description, exposed to the air before the glue is dry, 
should have two pieces of sweep- wood screwed on the 
under side so as to pull the face side rounding, and these 
must remain on till the glue is dry, otherwise the work 
will go hollow. 

Ivory and mother-of-pearl are also used for inlays in 
decorative furniture of a less costly description than that 
previously described. Dressing case makers and papier 
mache workers also use these extensively, the former for 
ornaments in the fronts and tops of cases, usually con- 
nected with Imes of sheet zinc, which material matches 
with the pearl better than anything else — so well, indeed, 
that a person unconnected with the trade cannot tell the 
difference ; they are also used for card cases and fancy 
articles for the boudoir. Sometimes the form the pearl 
is desired to assume is of a very delicate character, to 
resemble carving, and is accomplished in the following 
manner : The surface of the pearl is covered with a mix- 
ture of tallow and wax put on warm, and when cold the 
design is marked out through the covering of wax ; then 
strong nitric acid is applied, which will eat away the 
pearl to the depth required, and the whole is wiped off 
with a rag. Designs of great delicacy and variety of 
form are thus obtained, which it would be impossible to 
secure by sawing or any similar process, to say nothing 
of the ease and facility with which the purpose of the 



358 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



/ 



designer is accomplished. The papier mache workers 
do not, as is commonly supposed, cut out the papier 
mache and let in the pearl. The pearl is simply attached 
to the surface in the positi-»n required with copal varnish, 
and repeated coats of thick black varnish are put on un- 
til the surface is level with that of the pearL A coat of 
varnish is then applied over the whole, and the pearl 
consequently concealed, to be afterward laid bare by 
rubbing down the black varnish with pumice-stone, after 
which it is polished by the application of rotten stone 
with the hand. The pearl is purchasable at painters' 
supply stores. 

IVORY WORK. 

Ivory is most frequently used with ebony in artistic 
cabinet work. It should be laid, where possible, with a 
caul, and cleaned oif exactly the same as buhl work. 
When used in circular pilasters, doors, plinths, etc., it 
is sometimes necessary that it should be bent, as it is not 
always possible to procure pieces large enough for the 
purpose in the solid. If a molding is required for a cir- 
cular corner, it should be first worked with a scratch and 
afterward made flexible, and then glued on the shape 
required. Owing to its britQeness, no attempt should 
ever be made to bend ivory before being made flexible. 

Tq render ivor if flexible, it should be immersed in a 
solution of pure phosphoric acid of specific gravity 1.130, 
and left there till it ceases to be opaque ; then it should 
be taken out, washed with clean water, and dried with a 
soft rag. If allowed to get hard, it must be soaked in 
hot water. 

BLEACHING IVORY. 

The method of bleaching ivory, as adopted by piano- 
forte-key makers, will answer for any kind of ivory work, 
the only difference being that the thicker the substance 
the longer it must remain in the solutions. The ivory, 
when cut into plates of the proper thickness for keys, is 
placed in a flat vessel, and a solution of carbonate of soda, 
in the proportion of ten ounces of soda to two pints of 
soft river water to each pound of ivory, is poured over it. 
This is allowed to remain for thirty-six or forty-eight 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 359 

hours, when the solution is to be poured off, and the 
iyory washed several times in cold soft water ; after this 
it is to be again immersed in a solution consisting of 
three-quarters of a pound of sulphate of soda and two 
pounds of strong salt-and-water to a pound of the ivory, 
and allowed to remain five or six houis. Two ounces of 
hydrochloric acid, previously diluted with four times its 
weight of water, are then to be stirred in, the vessel cov- 
ered with a tight-fitting cap, and allowed to remain for 
thirty-six hours. The liquid is then poured off, and the 
ivory plates well washed and dried in the air. Should 
the desired degree of whiteness not be obtained by one 
operation, it can be repeated until successful. As the 
gases generated during the process are injurious to the 
lungs, it will be readily understood that the operation 
should be conducted in the open air, or in a chimney 
where the fumes can be carried off. 

POLISHING IVORY. 

When ivory is cleaned off with fine glass-paper, it is 
well rubbed with a piece of wet linen cloth dipped in 
powdered pumice-stone, which will give a very fine sur- 
face ; the final polish may be produced with fine whiting 
applied by a piece of cloth wetted with soapsuds. Care 
must be taken in this and in every instance where artir 
cles of different fineness are used, that, previous to ap- 
plying a finer, every particle of the coarser material be 
removed, and that the rags be clean, soft, and free from 
grit. Ornamental work must be polished with the same 
materials as plain work, using brushes instead of linen, 
and rubbiug as little as possible, otherwise the more 
prominent parts will be injured. The polishing material 
should be washed off with clean water, and, when dry, 
may be rubbed with a clean brush. Horn and tortoise 
shell are so similar in their nature and texture, that they 
may be classed together. As regards the general mode 
of working and polishing them, a very perfect surface is 
given by scraping, papering, and the applica'^ion of a 
buff made of woolen cloth perfectly free from grease. 
The cloth may be glued upon a stick to be used by hand, 
or a bob may be used, which is a wheel running in the 



360 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

lathe covered with the cloth, and is much to be preferred 
on account of the rapidity of motion. The huH may be 
covered with either powdered charcoal and water or fine 
brickdust and water. After the work has been made as 
smooth as possible with this, it is followed by another 
buff or bob on which dry whiting is rubbed. The horn 
or tortoise shell is then moistened with acetic acid. The 
buff and whiting will produce a fine gloss, which may 
be completed by rubbing with the palm of the hand and 
a small portion of dry whiting or rotten-stone. 

STAINING IVORY. 

Black. — Aquafortis and iron filings, which should be 
made in a large earthenware pot and mixed out of doors. 
Put in the ivory and iron filings, then add the aquafor- 
tis. Be sure that the pot is large enough to prevent 
boiling over. 

Blue. — Immerse for some time in a diluted solution 
of sulphate of indigo partly saturated with potash. 

Green. — Boil in a solution of verdigris in acetic acid 
until the desired color is obtained. 

Red. — Dip the ivory first in the tin mordant used in 
dyeing, and then immerse in a hot decoction of Brazil 
wood — half a pound to a gallon of water. 

Scarlet. — Use lac-dye instead of the preceding. 

Violet. — Dip in the tin mordant, then immerse in a 
decoction of archil and boiling water. 

Yellow. — Immerse in nitro-hydrochlorate of tin, then 
boil in a strained decoction of fustic. 

Horn or bone may be treated in the same manner as 
ivory for the various colors given. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 361 



MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES. 

rUKNITUKE OILS. 

These oils are used to freshen or revive oil or wax-fin- 
ished furniture. They are applied with a woolen rag, 
and rubbed with the grain until the polish appears. 

For Mahogany. — 1. Linseed oil, 1 pint, alkanet root, 
^ lb. ; digest in a warm place until colored. 

2. Linseed oil, one pint ; beeswax, ^ lb. ; melt with 
heat and color as in No. 1. 

3. Linseed oil, one pint ; Venice turpentine, 6 ozs.; 
for dark wood. 

4. Nut oil, 5^ pint ; beeswax, 3 ozs. 

5. The same as No. 4 with 3 ounces of copal varnish 
added. 

FURNITURE CREAM. 

1. Pearlash, 2 ozs. ; soft soap, 4 ozs. ; bees wax, 1 lb. 
water, 1 gallon ; boil until united. 

2. Beeswax, % lb.; yellow soap, }£ lb.; water 5 
pints ; boil until mixed ; then add ^ pint each of lin- 
seed oil and turpentine. Dilute with water when using, 
apply with a painter's brush, and polish with a woolen 
cloth or hard brush. 

3. Spirits of turpentine, 1 pint ; alkanet root, "^ oz. ; 
digest until the color of the root is extracted, then add 
scraped wax, ^ lb. Put in a warm place until fairly 
mixed. Apply as above. For light colored woods leave 
out the alkanet root. 

4. White wax ( bleached ) dissolved in warm potash 
lye, or parafine in benzine or naphtha — for pale woods. 

Note. — None of these revivers are particularly to be 
recommended except those composed only of wax, lin- 
seed oil and turpentine. When using this kind the fur- 
niture should be freed from dust and a woolen rng used 
to apply the article. Indeed, a woolen rag and linseed 
oil mixed with a little turpentine, for general use is the 
best thing that can be employed. 



362 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



LIQUID GLUE. 



An excellent liquid glue is made by dissolving glue in 
nitric ether. The solution can not be made too thick, 
as the ether will only dissolve a certain quantity of glue. 
It will be of about the consistence of molasses, and doubly 
as tenacious as that made with hot water. If a few bits 
of native India rubber, cut into scraps the size of buck- 
shot, be added, and the solution allowed to stand a few 
days, being stirred frequently, it will be all the better, 
and will resist dampness much more effectually than glue 
made with water. 

MARINE GLUE. 

Take half an ounce of native india rubber, cut into 
small pieces, and dissolve in a pint of naphtha. Allow 
it to stand until it becomes as thick as cream. To this 
add about double the quantity, by weight of shellac; 
heat the whole in an iron vessel, and well stir until the 
lac is thoroughly combined. It can then be poured out 
into shapes and will solidify as it cools. When the glue 
(is wanted for use, one of the cakes has only to be put 
into an iron pot, and heated up to about 250 degrees, 
Fahrenheit, when it will commence to liquefy. It should 
be applied with a brush, and the surfaces united as 
quickly as possible, and pressed together for a short time. 
As soon as the glue has thoroughly set, the adhesion will 
be so perfect that the wood itself will break sooner than 
the composition will give way. This glue will also unite 
iron or glass. 

rRE:N^CH-POLISH REVIVER. 

This recipe will sometimes be found useful. If the 
w^ork is sweated and dirty, make it tolerably wet and let 
it stand a few minutes ; then rab off and polish with a 
soft rag. It is important that the ingredients should be 
mixed in a bottle in the order as given : Vinegar, 1 gill ; 
alcohol or methylated spirit, 1 gill; linseed oil, ^ pint; 
butter of antimony (poison), 1 oz. 

MOROCCO LEATHER REVIVER. 

The coverings of chairs or sofas in morocco, roan, or 
skiver can be much improved by this reviver. If old and 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 363 

greasy, wash with sour milk first. The reviver should 
be applied Avith a piece of wadding, and wiped one way 
only, as in glazing. The color can be matched by ad- 
ding red Sanders. Alcohol or meth. spirits, y^ pint ; 
gum benzoin, 2 ozs. ; shellac, J^ oz. Mix, and shake 
up occasionally until dissolved. 

A CHEAP FURNITURE VARNISH. 

Gum sandarach, 1 lb. ; pale rosin, 1 J^ lbs. ; benzine, 
2 gallons. 

MASTIC VARNISH. 

Mastic should be dissolved in oil of turpentine, in 
close glass vessels, by means of a gentle heat. This var- 
nish is extensively used in transparencies, etc. 

COPAL VARNISH. 

Dissolve the copal, broken in pieces, in linseed oil, by 
digestion, the heat being almost sufficient to boil the oil. 
The oil should be made drying by the addition of quick- 
lime. This makes a beautiful transparent varnish. It 
should be diluted with oil of turpentine ; a very small 
quantity of copal, in proportion to the oil, will be found 
sufficient. 

SEEDLAC VARNISH. 

Wash three ounces of seedlac in several waters ; dry 
it ; and powder it coarsely. Dissolve it in one pint of 
rectified spirits of wine; submit it to a gentle heat, 
shaking it as often as convenient until it apjjears dis- 
solved. Pour off the clear part, and strain the remain- 
der. 

BLACK VARNISH. 

Mix a small quantity of gas-black with the brown hard 
varnish previously mentioned. The black can be ob- 
tained by boiling a pot over a gas burner, so that it 
almost touches the burner, when a fine jet-black will 
form at the bottom, which remove and mix with the 
varnish, and apply with a brush. 



364 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

A Black Polish can be made in the same way : after 
wetting the rubber, just touch it with the black. Place 
the linen cover over, touch it with oil, and it is ready for 
work. 

RED STAIN. 

Two ounces of Brazil wood, two ounces of potash, one 
quart of water ; mix. The mixture should stand in a 
warm place for several days, and be occasionally stirred. 
When required for use, it should be made boiling hot, 
and brushed over several times ; and while wet a solution 
of alum (two ounces to a quart of water) should be 
brushed over. 

BROWN STAIN. 

Two parts of brown umber and one part of sulphuric 
acid ; add spirits of wine or methylated spirits until it is 
sufficiently fluid. 

TO REMOVE FRENCH POLISH OR VARNISH FROM OLD WORK. 

Cleaning off old work for repolishing or varnishing is 
usually found difficult, and to occupy considerable time 
if only the scraper and glass paper be used. It can be 
easily accomplished in a very short time by washing the 
surface with liquid ammonia, applied with a piece of 
rag ; the polish will peel off like a skin, and leave the 
wood quite bare. In carvings or turned work, after ap- 
plying the ammonia, use a hard brush to remove the 
varnish. 

CLEANING AND RE-LACQUERING OLD BRASS WORK. 

This recipe will be found very useful to restorers or 
repairers of furniture for old brass work. First boil the 
articles in strong soda and water so as to get off the dirt 
and old lacquer ; then scrub them with sand, and rinse 
them. The next process is the dipping, for which will 
be required an earthenware pan capable of holding the 
articles, which must be filled with sufficient aquafortis 
to cover them. Also, have ready at hand two pails of 
clean water and a box of sawdust, — if the sawdust could 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 365 

be kept hot it would be all the better, — and a clean 
brush. Proceed as follows : Tie the articles on copper 
wire and dip them in the acid ; then rinse in the water, 
and aftervv'ard well rub in the sawdust till thoroughly 
dry ; then brush the sawdust off. If there are any parts 
that want relieving, this must be done with a bright steel 
burnisher and a little stale beer. The articles are then 
ready for lacquering. If allowed to get tarnished, to re- 
store their brightness they must be dipped again, the 
acid to be diluted with ten times its weight of water ; 
rinse and dry as before. When the lacquer is applied 
the articles should be laid on a hot plate, o lin an oven, 
and made so hot that you can only just bear your hand 
on them. With a soft camel-hair varnish brush lay on 
the lacquer lightly. Care must be taken not to give it 
too thick a coating, nor to have the articles overheated. 

LACQUEKS. 

Lacquers are used upon metals to keep them from tar- 
nishing, and also to impart the appearance of gold. As 
they are wanted of different depths and shades of colors, 
is is best to keep a concentrated solution of each coloring 
ingredient ready, so that it may at any time be added to 
produce the desired tint. The following recipes are 
most excellent ; if only a small quantity is required, di- 
vide the ingredients proportionately. 

Gold Lacquer. — Put into a clean gallon tin ^ lb. of 
brown turmeric, % oz. of powdered gamboge, 1 oz. of 
powdered gum sandarach, 3 ozs. of shellac, and 2 quarts 
of alcohol or methylated spirit ; after being agitated, 
dissolved and strained, add a quarter of a pint of tur- 
pentine varnish, and well mix. 

Red Lacquer. — 2 qts. of alcohol or meth. spirits, i^ lb. 
of dragon's blood, |^ lbs. of Spanish anatto, 18 ozs. of 
gum sandarach, and ^ pint of turpentine. Made as 
before. 

Pale Brass Lacquer. — 2 qts. of alcohol or meth. spirits 
^ ozs. of Cape aloes cut small, i^ lb. of pale shellac, 
^oz. of gamboge powdered ; no turpentine varnish. 
Made exactly as before. 

Pale Tin Xacg'^^er.— -Strongest alcohol, four ounces; 



366 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

powdered turrr-eric, two drams ; hay saffron, one scru- 
ple ; red sanders, half scruple. Infuse this mixture in 
the cold for forty-eight hours, pour off the clear, and 
strain the rest ; then add powdered shellac, half ounce ; 
sandarach, one dram ; mastic, one dram ; Canada bal- 
sam, one dram ; dissolve this in the cold by frequent 
agitation, laying the bottle on its side to present a great- 
er surface to the alcohol. When dissolved, add forty 
drops of spirits of turpentine. 

Deep Gold Lacquer. — Strongest alcohol, four ounces ; 
Spanish anatto, eight grains ; powdered turmeric, two 
drams ; red sanders, twelve grains. Infuse and add shel- 
lac, etc., as to the pale tin lacquer ; and when dissolved 
add thirty drops of spirits of turpentine. 

Lacquer should always stand till it is quite fine before 
it is used. 

TO TKAN'SFER ENGRAVINGS FROM PAPER TO WOOD. 

This process is much used in the small fancy articles 
known as Tunbridge ware. The block for the engraving 
should be cut so that it prints the reverse way, otherwisa 
when the print is transferred to the wood, objects on the 
left hand will appear on the righ t. The work is chiefly 
made of white holly and well cleaned off. The engra- 
ving is wetted on the back with spirits of wine, and is 
laid on the work where required, the face downward, 
and a soft pressure immediately applied ; when dry, re- 
move the paper, and the engraving will be transferred. 

carvers' squeezing wax. 

This preparation is used for obtaining the exact pat- 
terns of carvings, and to give the workman a clearer idea 
of projections or depths than a drawing would do, unless 
a considerable time were expended upon it. In cases 
where it is required to match furniture which is at a dis- 
tance and can not be removed, the wax can be applied 
without injury to the carving, and can be made from 
either of the following : viz. , suet, one part ; beeswax, 
two parts — or wax, five parts ; olive oil, one part — or 
wax, four parts ; common turpentine, one part. The 
parts only need to be melted together, and allowed to 



ITHE HOME MECHANIC. S67 

cool ; the wax is then fit for use. It should be well 
pressed into the carving. Sometimes it is only possible 
to take the front or side of an object at a time, as it 
must be drawn off in the form of a mold. The sec- 
tions when ready should be filled with plaster of Paris 
and water made into a thick paste, and allowed to set ; 
the mold is then removed, and the plaster cast is ready 
to work from. 

TO REMOVE GREASE STAINS PROM SILKS, DAMASKS, 

CLOTH, ETC. 

Pour over the stain a small quantity of benzoline spir- 
.ts, and it will soon disappear without leaving the least 
mark behind. The most delicate colors can be so treated 
without fear of injury. For paint stains, chloroform is 
very efficacious. 

TO REMOVE INK STAINS FROM WHITE MARBLE. 

Make a little chloride of lime into a paste with water, 
and rub it into the stains, and let it remain a few hours ; 
then wash off in soap and water. 

TO REMOVE IRON OR INK STAINS FROM OAK, ASH, OR 

MAHOGANY. 

Two pennyworth of oxalic acid dissolved in a pint of 
warm water, to which is added a few drops of spirit of 
nitre. This preparation when applied to a stain will re- 
move it almost instantly. 

A NEVER-YIELDING CEMENT. 

Pound calcined oyster shells, sift the powder through 
a silk sieve, and grind it on a marble slab till reduced to 
the finest powder ; then take the whites of several eggs, 
according to quantity required ; beat them w^ell, and 
having mixed them with the powder, form the whole 
into a kind of paste. With this paste join pieces of 
china, glass, or marble, pressing them together for a few 
minutes. The united parts will stand heat and water, 
and will not come apart if they should fall on the ground. 



^6^ THE Home mechanic. 



A USEFUL CEMENT. 

Best isinglass, % oz. ; strong acetic acid (vinegar), 
1 ^ ozs. Out the isinglass fine with scissors, and dis- 
solve by putting the tin or bottle in hot water. This 
cement will stand water and any amount of rough usage, 
but not strong heat. For joining marble or any similar 
material, a little of the powdered oyster shell, as given 
in the preceding recipe, should be added, and the parts 
made hot before joining ; the cement to be used as thin 
as possible. This is usually sold by chemists as Persian 
cement, or coaguline. 

TO APPLY SOLDER TO CELLARETS. 

To make soldering fluid that will cause solder to run 
over or through any metal, take six pennyweights of zinc, 
clean and cut in small strips from the sheet, and place it 
in an earthen cup ; then put on one and a half penny- 
weights of subnitrate of bismuth, and pour on one ounce 
of muriatic acid. It will boil furiously. Let it stand a 
day or two, stirring it occasionally ; allow it to settle, 
and pour off the clear liquid for use. The edges of the 
pieces to be soldered are first filed ; then wetted with the 
metalic solution ; the edges are brought together, a piece 
of solder is laid on, and the hot soldering tools applied 
in the usual manner. 



3 



1?HE HOME MECHANIC. 369 



HORSE-SHOEING. 



HORSE SHOES IN HISTORY. 

The Romans shod their horses, though not in the isame 
way as we do. Their pedillum* lapped over, and therefore 
occasioned a rattling sound. Winckelmann has pubHshed a 
drawing of a Eoman gem, showing one man holding up the 
fool of a, horse, and another man shoeing it. An iron horse- 
shoe is mentioned by Appian ; but shoes (carbatinee) made 
of raw hides were, as Aristotle and Pliny attest, put upon 
camels in the time of war and duiing long journeys. Nero 
is said, by Suetonius, to have shod his mules with silver. 
Pliny records of Poppsea, the empress of Nei-o, that she 
used gold for the same purpose. These shoes had probably 
the upper part only formed of the precious metals, or per- 
haps they were plated out of thin slips. 

In the horseshoes found in the German barrows, says 
Fosbroke, the shoes project not downward, but upward. 
At Oolney, in England, were found Roman urns, and a horse- 
shoe of uncommon form — round and broad in front, narrow- 
ing very much backward, and having its extreme ends al- 
most brought close behind, and rather pointing inward, with 
the nail-holes still perfect. An early instance of nails in 
horseshoes is furnished by one of a horse buried with Chil- 
deric I., who died 481 , which was fastened with nine nails 
(Archseologia, iii, 35). Du Oange and Oarew mention the 
custom of shoeing only the fore-feet. La Brocquiere de- 
scribes the oriental horseshoes as being very light, rather 
lengthened toward the heel, and thinner there than at the 
toe. They were not turned up, and had but four nail-hoks, 

^Shoe. 



370 THE HOME MECHANrO. 

two upon each side. The nails were square, with a thick 
and heavy head. 

The present mode of shoeing horses was introduced into 
England by the Normans, at the time of the conquest. 
The Britons had been taught the use of them by the 
Romans, but their pedolan were probably considered too 
clumsy to be adopted by the Saxons. The Franks in the 
ninth century, and probably also the Normans, shod their 
horses in winter only. 

It may be mentioned, that the male horse only was rid- 
den by knights and people of any distinction in the middle 
ages ; and that to ride a mare was always looked upon as a 
degradation. This was either a religious superstition, or an 
old Teutonic prejudice. In the thirteenth century, horses 
were obtained from Turkey and Greece, and at a later peri- 
od from Barbary. The lord rode the destrier, or war-horse j 
the lady, the palefroi, or palfrey ; the servant, the roncin j 
and the luggage was carried by a sommier, or sumpter. 
White horses were most prized, after them dapple-gray, and 
bay or chestnut. It is curious to find that, in 1435, the 
queen of Navarre gave carrots to her horses. The ordinary 
price of horses in England, in the reign of Edward I., was 
fi'om one to ten pounds. When St. Louis returned to France 
fi'om his captivity, the abbot of Cluny presented to the 
king and queen each a horse, the value of which Joinville 
estimated at five hundred livres — equal to about four hun- 
dred pounds of the present English money. Feats of horse- 
manship were much practiced ; one of these was to jump 
into the saddle in full armor : 

No foot FiLZJaines in stirrup staid, 
No grasp upon the saddle laid, 
But wreathed his left hand in the mane, 
And lightly bounded from the plain. 

Horses were frequently given as bribes. The widow of 
Herbert de Mesnil gave King John of England a palfrey to 
obtain the wardship of her children, and one Geoffrey Fitz- 
Richard gave the same monarch a palfrey for a concession 
in the forest of Beaulieu. 

A large pitcher, ornamented with horseshoes, was found 
in a Norman pottery, discovered on the estate of Lord Scars- 



|r^ THE HOME MECHANIC. 371 

dale, near Derby. It is figured in the reliquary, and is a 
very interesting example of the period. The decoration is 
the badge of the ancient lords of the soil on which the ves 
sel was made, and it was probably designed for castle use. 
The badge is that of the family of Ferrars, earls of Derby, 
Ferrars, and Nottingham, who held Duffield castle from the 
time of Henry III., when the lands were confiscated. 

In Lord Herbert's Life of Henry VIII. , we read that 
Henry " having feasted the ladies royally for divers days, 
did depart from Tournay to Lisle (October 13, 1513), 
whither he was invited by the Lady Margaret, who caused 
there a joust to be held in an extraordinary manner ; the 
place being a large room, raised high from the ground by 
many steps, and paved with black square stones like marble ; 
while the horses, to prevent slipping, were shod with felt 
or flocks (the Latin words are feltro sive tomento), after 
which the ladies danced all night." Shoeing with felt is 
mentioned by Shakespeare. 

Aubrey, in his Miscellanies, says : ^' Under the porch of 
Staninfield Church, in Suffolk, I saw a tile with a horseshoe 
upon it, placed there to hinder the power of witches, though 
one would imagine that the holy water would have been 
sufficient." The charm of the horseshoe lies in its being 
forked, and presenting two points. Thus Herrick, in his 
Hesperides, says : 

Hang up hooks and sheers, to scare 
Hence the hag that rides the mare, 
Till they be all over wet 
With the mire and with the sweat ; 
This observed, the manes shall be 
Of your horses all knot-free. 

Even the two forefingers held out apart, are thought to 
avert the evil eye, or prevent the mac-hinations of the lord 
and master of the nether world. 

The pentacle, or seal of Solomon, is supposed to possess 
great power, as being composed of two triangles present- 
ing six forked ends, and therefore called pentacle erroneously. 

Mr. Timbs states, that when Monmouth street was a fash- 
ionable locality of London, it was noted for its number of 
horseshoes nailed over the doorways or on the sill. In 1813, 



372 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Sir Henry Ellis counted here seventeen; in 1841, there 
were six , but in 1852, there were eleven ; now there are 
fewer. Nelson had great faith in the horseshoe, and one 
was nailed to the mast of the ship Victory. '^ Lucky Dr. 
James" attributed the success of his fever-powder to his 
finding a horseshoe, which he adopted as the crest upon his 
carriage. A horseshoe is very conspicuous at the gate of 
Meux's brewery, at the corner of Tottenham court road, and 
on the trappings of the horses of the establishment. The 
lucky belief in the horseshoe may have led to its having 
been adopted as the ornamental portion of a scarf-pin. 

Messrs Larwood and Hotten, in their History of Sign- 
boards, state that the horseshoe by itself is comparatively a 
rare sig.n. The three horseshoes, however, are not uncom- 
mon ; and the single shoe may be met with in many com- 
binations, arising from the old belief in its lucky influences. 
The sun and horseshoe is still a public house sign in Great 
Litchfield street; and the magpie and horseshoe may be 
seen carved in wood in Fetter lane — the magpie perched 
within the horsehoe, and a bunch of grapes being suspended 
from it. Slight remains of this superstitious regard for the 
horseshoe are to be found here and there in the United States. 



THEORY AND PRACTICE. 

Before I enter on the subject of shoeing, I must notice 
two things, which we must not only believe, but act upon, 
if we ever hope to arrive at really good horseshoeing ; the 
first is, that nature has given to what horsemen call a good 
shaped foot the form best suited to the horse's wants ; and 
the second is, that the hoof expands, when the horse's 
weight is thrown upon it, and contracts, when it is taken 
off again ; but the mere belief in these things will be of no 
use, unless we make the shoe to fit the foot, and nail it on 
in such a manner, as will allow the hoof to expand and con- 
tract ; for we might as well not believe at all, as believe a 
thing to be right, and not do it. 

Nailing an iron shoe to a living horse's foot is a very un- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 373 

natural thing to do, but, as it must be done, it is oar duty 
to see how we can do it with the least damage to the horsf 
To show this, I will suppose myself addressing a young 
smith, who is about to shoe his first horse. 



PREPARING THE P^OOT. 

You must begin by taking off one of the old shoes, and I 
say one, because the others should always be left on, for 
the horse to rest upon ; all horses stand quieter on shod feet 
than they can on bare ones ; and they are less likely to 
break the crust ; many tender footed horses are in positive 
agony, when forced to rest on a bare foot, while the oppo- 
site one is held up, to be shod. 

First raise all the clinches with the buffer, and if the 
shoe will not then come off easily, loosen some of the nails 
with the punch ; but never tear the shoe off by main force ; it 
splits the crust, widens the nail holes, and destroys the horn. 

The shoe being off, you should rasp the edge of the hoof 
all round, and take out any stubs, that may be left in the 
crust. Then you must pare out the foot ; and this requires 
both care and thought. If the horse has a strong foot with 
plenty of horn, you should shorten the toe, lower the heels 
and crust, and remove the dead horn from the sole, and also 
from the corners between the heels and the bars ; the best 
way of doing this is to pare the bars down nearly level with 
the sole, and then you can get at the dead horn in the cor- 
ners more easily. The part of the bar which stands up 
above the sole, would have been worn away, or broken 
down, if the shoe had not kept the hoof off the ground ; 
therefore you had better always pare it down ; but on no ac- 
count ever cut anything away from the sides of the bars, 
nor, what is called, " open out the heels ;" and be sure, 
that you never touch the frog with a knife. Now remem- 
ber, that there are three things, which you must never do 
in paring out a foot; you must never cut the sides of the 
bars, nor open out the heels, nor pare the frog; and I will 
tell } on why you must never do them. 



374 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

The bars are placed where they are, to keep the heels 
from closing in upon the frog, and if j^ou thin them by cut- 
ting their sides, you weaken them, and they can no longer 
do it, and the foot begins to contract. 

Opening out the heels does exactly the same thing by 
weakening the very parts which nature placed there, to 
keep the heels apart. It takes some time to contract a 
horse's foot so much as to lame him ; and because the con- 
traction comes on by slow degrees, no one notices it, until 
the horse falls lame, and then ev^ery one wonders what can 
have done it ; but very few hit upon the right cause. 

The frog is a thick, springy cushion, whose chief use is 
to protect a very important joint, called the navicular joint, 
and it is covered by a thin layer of horn, which keeps in the 
moisture ; and every time you slice off any of the frog, you 
lay bare a part that was never meant to be exposed to the 
air, and iL dries, and cracks, and forms rags ; and if these 
rags are cut off at every fresh shoeing, the whole frog be- 
comes as dry and hard as a board ; and the horse gets an 
incurable disease, called '^ navicular disease ;" therefore I 
say, leave the frog alone ; it will never grow too large ; for 
long before that would happen, the outer covering will shell 
off, and a new, horny covering will be found underneath ; and 
as to the rags, leave them alone also, and they will fall off 
of themselves. 

A weak, flat foot will bear very little paring, or rasping ; 
the crust of such a foot is sure to be thin at the toe, and 
low at the heels, with a thin and weak sole 5 therefore the 
less you do to it the better, beyond making the crust level, 
where it is to bear upon the shoe ; this must be done to all 
feet, and as the inner quarter, where there should be no 
nails, does not wear away as fast as the outer quarter, 
where the nails are driven, you should always place a rasp 
upon its edge across the foot, to be quite sure that the two 
sides are level. I have known shoes lost from the inside 
quarter being higher, than the outside ; which caused the 
foot to bear unevenly on the shoe. 

Before you pare out a foot, you should always think of 
the state of the roads, and if they are dry, and covered with 
loose stones, or have been lately repaired, you should take 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 375 

very little off the sole of any foot because, if you thin it 
the stones will bruise it, but when the season is wet, and 
the stones worn in, you may pare the sole of a strong foot 
a little, until it will yield in a very slight degree to the 
heaviest pressure you can make upon it with your thuuabs ; 
but you must never pare it thin enough to yield to less pres- 
sure than the very heaviest you can bring to bear upon it. 
Fig. 1 shows a good shaped near fore foot pared out 
ready for shoeing. I have placed letters against the differ- 
ent parts. The toe reaches from A to A, the letter B shows 
the middle of each quarter, and C marks the heels. You 
will observe that the crust is thicker on the outer quarter, 
where the nails should be, than it is on the inner quarter, 
where a nail must never be driven ; and you will also see 
that the hoof is not a circle, as many persons suppose it to 
be, but is straighter on the inside, than it is on the outside. 
D marks the sole, E shows the upper parts of the bars 
pared down nearly level with the sole. F shows that part 
which must never be touched by a knife, Gr marks the frog, 
and is placed just over the situation of the navicular joint. 
I would advise you to examine this frog well, because it is, 
what every horse's frog should look like, plump, full and 
even, with a broad, shallow cleft, not split through at 
the back part ; and if you shoe your horses properly, and 
never pare the frog, it is what their frogs will come to in 
time. 



THE SHOE. 

Before I talk about the shoe, I must settle names for the 
upper and under surfaces ; because I fear I should mislead 
those who are not smiths, if I call the part that rests upon 
the ground '^ the upper surface," as smiths do ; I shall 
therefore call that part of the shoe '^ the ground surface ;" 
and the part which goes next the foot I shall call '^ the 
foot surface ; " and then there can be no mistake as to 
which surface I mean. 

In turning your store shoes " in the rough," you should 



876 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



leave them longer at the heels, than smiths generally do j 
we shall see the reason for it, when we come to '' fitting the 
shoe 5 " and you should make the web as wide at the heels 
as it is at the toe, and of the same thickness throughout 
from the toe back to the heels. The "fuller" should be 
carried quite round then to the heels, and the 
fullering iron should have both sides alike. 
It is a far better tool than the one-sided 
iron in common use, which is generally so 
narrow and sharp, that it not only makes the 
groove too small for the heads of the nails 
to sink into, but it often splits the shoe. A 
narrow groove may look neater than a wide 
one 5 but you will find a wide one much 
more useful. 




Fig. 2. 



CHOOSING A SHOE. 

The first thing to look to in choosing a 
shoe is the kind of foot you have to deal 
with. If the foot be a strong, good shaped 
one, it will be an easy matter to find a shoe 
for it; only be sure to take great care that 
the web is not too narrow, and that the shoe is not too 
light. A light shoe is apt to bend, before it is half worn 
out ; and the pain, caused by the pressure of the bent nails 
against the tender lining of the hoof throws the horse down, 
and most likely breaks his knees. If the foot should be flat 
with a weak, brittle crust, you must still choose a stout 
shoe 5 for a horse with such a foot could not go at all on a 
bent shoe ; and the shoe must have a wide web, because 
the sole is sure to be thin, and will need plenty of cover to 
protect it. 

You must also look at the seating, for, if the foot is weak 
and flat, the shoe must be well seated out, to prevent its 
pressing upon and bruising the sole ; but, if the foot is strong, 
iiud the sole arched, there need not be more seating than 
will allow the point of a picker to pass freely round between 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



377 



the sole and the shoe ; otherwise dirt and small stones will 
get in, and bruise the sole as much as the shoe would do, 
if it pressed upon it. 



CUTTING OFF THE HEELS. 

Having fixed on a shoe to your mind, be- 
gin by cutting off the heels ; and you will 
find a half round chisel a better tool for the 
■ purpose, than a straight one, because you 
should never cut them off square , if you do, 
you will find it impossible to fit the shoe 
properly to the heels, and at the same time 
lieep the web as wide at the heels, as it is at 
the toe ; for one of the corners of the shoe 
will be sticliing into the frog, while the other 
stands out beyond the crust ; but, if you cut 
them off as shown in Fig. 4 you will have no 
difficulty in bringing every part of the shoe 
into its proper place on the foot. Fig. 1 is a 
shoe turned in the rough ; and the dotted 
lines show the direction, in which the heels 
should be cut off. The side next the frog 
should be cut off from C to B, and the outer 
corner from A to B, and then the shoe will 
^W' 3. iQok like Fig. 5, which with a little hammer- 
ing over the beak of the anvil will soon come like Fig. 6 ; 
you will see that the points marked A in Fig. 5 have dis- 
appeared in Fig 6, and that the parts between A and B on 
each side have become a portion of the outer rim of the 
shoe ; whereby the outer rim is lengthened and the inner 
rim shortened ; and there are no comers left to prevent 
your fitting the shoe to the exact sweep of the crust at the 
heels, and you are also enabled to keep the web as wide at 
the heels as it is at the toe. I have introduced Fig. 6 in 
this place, because it gave me the opportunity of explaining 
the reason for cutting off che heels, as I have directed ; but 
at this stage of the business it is a good plan always to 



378 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



leave the quarters and heels rather straight and wide apart, 
until you have fitted the toe ; because it is less trouble to 
hring them in, than it is to open them out, after the front 
has been fitted. 



THE NAIL HOLES. 

You must next open the nail holes ; but be sure that 
they have been stamped so as to pass straight through the 

shoe, and come 
out on the foot 
surface in the flat 
part of the we' , 
and not partly in 
the flat and part- 
ly in the seating. 
It is a very bad 
plan to make 
them slant in- 
ward as most 
smiths do ; for in 
driving a nail, 
they have first to 
pitch the point 
inward, then 
turn it outward, 
driving it all the 
time with the 
grain of the crust, and at last they bring it oat high up in 
the thinnest part of the hoof, and have the weakest part of 
the nail for a clinch. Now, instead of all this, if you make 
the holes straight through the shoe, you have only to drive 
the nail straight, and it will go through the shoe across the 
grain of the crust, and come out low down in the thickest 
part of the hoof, and give you a strong clinch, made out of 
the shank of the nail, instead of a weak one made out of the 
point. The advantage of straight holing is, that you are 
sure never to prick the foot in driving a nail, and you get a 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 



S79 




firmer hold for the shoe ; every body knows, that a short 

purchase across 
S B the line of the 

strain is stronger 
than a longer one 
in the direction 
of the strain. 

The soundness 
of the horse's 
foot, so far as 
shoeing is con- 
cerned, depends 
more upon the 
number of nails, 
and where they 
are placed, than 
upon anything 
else ; for, if the 
shoe is ever so 
badly formed 

and the nail holes are rightly placed, very little harm will 

happen to the fout beyond the loss of a shoe ; but, if the 

shoe is of the best 

possible shape, and 

fitted to the foot in 

the most perfect 

manner, unless the 

nail holes are placed 

so that the foot can 

expand it must in 

the end become un- 
sound. The portion 

of hoof which ex- 
pands the most is 

the inner quarter 

and heel ; you must 

therefore leave 

those parts free 

from nails : and the 

way to do it is never 




380 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

to stamp more than two holes on the inside of the shoe, one 
about an inch and a quarter from the center of the toe, and 
the other about three quarters of an inch behind it. It is 
quite clear that if you nail both sides of a horse's hoof to an 
iron shoe, the hoof will be held fast and cannot expand ; 
and when the horse's weight forces the bones of the foot 
into the hoof the tender lining of the hoof will be squeezed 
against the shanks of the nails, and cause pain to the horse 
at every step he takes. The whole number of nail holes 
should never exceed five ; three on the outside and two on 
the inside. I have proved over and over again, that five 
nails will hold on a fore shoe at any kind of work, in any 
country, and at any pace. When a shoe is properly fitted 
M the foot, and fastened by five nails, nothing but the 
smith's pincers can pull it off. 

Having cut off the heels, and opened the nail holes, you 
must next turn up a clip at the toe 5 every shoe should have 
one at the toe, it keeps the shoe steady, and prevents its 
being forced back ; but you should never put one at either 
side, for if it were put on the inside, it would prevent the 
hoof expanding ; and on the outside it is worse than useless, 
for the nails there are quite sufficient to keep the shoe from 
working across the foot, and the clip will interfere with the 
placing of onp q2 the nails, and will destroy more of the 
crust, than two nails would have done. 



FITTING THE SHOE 

You must always bear in mind, that '' ficting the shoe " 
means fitting the shoe to the foot, and not fitting the fool 
to the shoe, as is too often done in many forges. 

It is a bad plan for a beginner to try to fit the whole of 
the shoe at once ; it is much better, uttil yon have had a 
good deal of practice, to fit the toe first, then the quarters, 
and lastly! he hee^s ; but, before you begin to fit the toe, 
take a look at the Id shoe, and see how much of the toe of 
it is worn away; lecause just so much of the new shoe 



The home mechanic. 381 

should be turned up from the ground, to remove it out of 
the Ime of wear. 

We all know that horses go better and stumble less in 
old shoes than they do in new ones, and the reason why 
they do so, is. because they have worn away the toe, and 
no longer jar the foot by striking the toe against hard sub- 
stances in the road. A new shoe turned up at the toe, is 
the same thing to the horse as an old one worn down ; 
but with this great difference to his comfort, that he is easy 
upon the new one from the time it is first put on, whereas 
he was never easy upon the old one, until he had worn away 
the toe. 

When a horse wears his shoe hard at the toe, it is the 
custom of most smiths to weld a lump of steel on to it, to 
make him longer in wearing it away ; but this only increases 
the jar to his foot ; whereas turning up the toe makes the 
shoes last quite as long, and saves the horse from a great 
deal of unnecessary suffering. A strong foot will bear the 
toe to be turned up a good deal ; but a flat foot is always 
weak at the toe, and cannot bear the removal of any of the 
horn from it ; the best way therefore of dealing with a very 
flat foot is to fit the shoe to it without turning up the toe, 
then to make the toe of the shoe red hot, and place it in the 
vice with the ground surface toward you, and in that posi- 
tion rasp the iron away from that part of the toe, which 
would have rested on the ground ; the horse will travel 
safer and better for it, and the loss of a little iron from the 
toe will not cause the shoe to wear out faster ; for a flat- 
footed horse will generally wear away the heels of a shoe 
long before he has worn out the toe. 

You can make a very handy tool for turning up the toe 
of a shoe by '' shutting " a piece of iron five inches long and 
one inch broad, crosswise on to each blade of a pair of 
smith's tonges ; with this tool you will be able to grasp 
both limbs of the shoe at once, and not only turn up the toe 
over the end of the anvil, but restore the seating at the toe 
without bending the shoe, or putting it out of shape 5 which 
you could not do without a great deal of trouble by holding 
one limb at a time in common tongs. The accompanying 
figure shows you this tool in use with the ground surface of 



382 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



the sboe uppermost, for turning up the toe, and you have 
only to reverse it, keeping the same grasp of the shoe, and 
the foot surface will come uppermost, ready to have the 
seating made good. 

I will now suppose that you have turned up the toe of 
the shoe, shortened the toe of the hoof, rasped the crust, to 
receive the turned up shoe, and cut a notch for the clip ; 
you had better next, until you have gained experience in 
fitting a shoe, " spring '^ the heels, to prevent their burning 




Fig. 7. 

the back part of the crust, while you are fitting the shoe to 
the fore part ; but you must bring them down again, before 
you fit the quarters and heels, and never leave them 
'^ sprung " when the shoe is nailed on. 

You must now put the toe of the shoe in the fire, and 
make it hot enough to mark the uneven portions of horn, 
which should be lightly removed by the rasp, until an even 
bed is left for the shoo to rest upon. You need not fear to 
burn the toe of a strong foot j it can do no harm ; but a 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 383 

weak foot with a thin crust of course will not bear much 
burning, still the shoe should be made hot enough to scorch 
the horn, and show where the hoof fails to bear upon it. 

When the toe is once properly fitted, there will be very 
little trouble in fitting the quarters and heels ; you have only 
to bring them in over the beak of the anvil, until the edge 
of the shoe ranges with the edge of the hoof back to the 
furthest point of the heel on each side, and continue the 
same sweep, until it nearly touches the frog ; there must be 
none of the shoe left sticking out beyond the hoof either be- 
hind, or at the sides of the heels. 

I know that a great many smiths are very fond of what 
are called '^ opened heeled shoes," which means shoes with 
straight heels, wide apart, and projecting beyond the hoof 
both behind and at the sides ; and the only reason I have ever 
heard in favor of such shoes is a very bad one, viz.: that the 
horse requires more support at the heels, than he gets from 
the hoof; but you may depend upon it, thatnature has made 
no mistake about it ; and if the horse really wanted more 
support, than he gets from the heels of the hoof, he would 
have had it ; but I think I shall prove that this kind of shoe 
instead of being a benefit to the horse is a positive evil to 
him ; it interferes with his action, and exposes his sole and 
frog to serious injury from stones in the road ; and the pro- 
jecting portions of the shoe become ledges, for stiff ground 
to cling to, and pull the shoe off. More shoes are lost 
through these mischievous projections at the heels, than 
from all other causes put together. 

Let us see how it is that these projecting heels interfere 
with the horse's action. It is not necessary for this pur- 
pose to trouble you with the anatomy of the foot, but merely 
to state that all its parts are joined to each other in such a 
manner as to form one great spring, and that the ^ foot is 
joined to the leg by the pastern and coronet bones in a di- 
rection slanting forward, which brings the foot a little in ad- 
vance of the leg, and places the heels in front of a line, 
dropped from the center of the fetlock joint to the ground. 

1 The shank or cannon bone. 

2 The pastern bone. 

3 The coronet bone. 



384 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



4 The sessamoid bone. 

A. The point where the weight of the horse would fall on 
the upper end of the pastern bone. 

B. The point where a line 
dropped from A would meet the 
ground. 

C. The heel of the hoof. 
Now it is clear that the weight 

of the horse will fall upon the 
upper end of this slanting pastern 
bone at every step, and the bone 
having a joint at each end of it 
will sink to the weight thus 
thrown upon it, and break the 
force of the shock both to the 
leg and foot ; but, if the heels of 
the shoe are longer than the heels 
of the hoof, the projecting pieces 
of iron will meet the ground fur- 
ther back than natural heels 
would have done, and will check 
the sinking of the pastern bone 
just as an upright pastern does, by bringing the heels too 
much under the center of the weight, which causes the 
horse to step short and go stumpy. 

If you wish to avoid these evils and keep tne norse's shoes 
on his feet, you must bring in the hee^s, and let the shoe 
strictly follow the form of the foot, whatever that form may 
be. 

The part of the foot that needs protection from injury 
more than any other, is the " navicular joint," which rests 
upon the frog about an inch, or an inch and a quarter be- 
hind its point ; and the only way to protect it is to keep the 
web of the shoe as wide at the heels as it is at the toe, and 
to bring in the heels until they nearly touch the frog; by so 
doing you lessen the opening of the shoe, and the web of 
one side or the other will strike upon the stones in the road 
and save the frog from coming with full force upon them. 
But open-heeled shoes leave the frog entirely exposed to 
very large stones and are the cause of many a severe bruise 




THE HOME 3IECHANIC. 



S85 



to the navicular joint, which lays the foundation of future 
incurable lameness. 

I have often seen shoes so wide at the heels, that I have 
placed my clinched hand within the opening of the shoe 
without touching either side of it ; and where my fist could 
go a stone as large could go. 

Another great advantage of bringing in the heels and 




fitting the shoe close is the certainty that the horse will not 
cast his shoe 5 you leave nothing for stiff ground to lay hold 
of, and if you slightly bevel the inside quarter and heel of 
the shoe from the foot downward, as is sometimes done to 
prevent a horse cutting, no ground in the world can pull it 
off; for the foot expanding to the weight of the horse, en- 
larges the hole made by the shoe, and leaves more space for 
the shoe to come out of, than it made for itself to go in at ; 



386 THE HOME MECHANIC, 

but, if the shoe projects beyond the hoof at any part, and 
more particularly at the heels, the foot cannot fill the hole 
made by the shoe, and stiff clay will cling round the pro- 
jection and pull the shoe off. 

Having so far finished the shoe, place it on the face o1 
the anvil with the toe hanging over the side, and see that 
the foot surface of the quarters and heels are quite level ; 
then make it hot enough to scorch the hoof all round and 
form a bed for itself j without this it would be next to 
impossible to insure close fitting, for after you have made the 
foot as level as you can with the rasp, and the shoe as level 
as you can on the anvil, the chances are very much against 
their fitting like two planed boards, as they ought to do ; 
and the quantity of horn to be thus removed is so small as 
not to be worth thinking about. It is a mistake to suppose 
that a hot shoe injures the hoof ; it does nothing of the kind, 
and you cannot possibly fit a shoe properly without making 
it hot. I would not have you burn a shoe into its place on 
the foot before you had taken care to make both the foot 
and the shoe as level as you could, but when you have done 
that, the small quantity of burning that is necessary to make 
them come close together can do no harm. I have said 
before that a weak thin crust will not bear as much heat as 
a strong one, and that the shoe should be applied less hot 
to it, nevertheless it must be scorched that you may be 
sure the shoe fits properly. 

When you have cooled the shoe, you should ^' back hole " 
it, that is, make free openings on the foot surface for the 
nails to pass through ; and these openings should be large 
enough to take the shanks of the nails and not merely the 
thin part toward their points, and mind that in opening 
them you do not make the holes incline inward, but take 
great care to make them pass straight through the shoe. 

Before you '' file up " the shoe, hold it firmly in its place 
on the foot with both hands, and examine carefully whether 
any light appears between the foot and the shoe, and if you 
should perceive any, alter the shoe at once ; for the crust 
must bear upon the shoe all round before you can say that 
the shoe fits the foot as it ought to do. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



887 



FILING UP THE SHOE. 



Much time is often wasted in polishing the shoe with the 
file before it is nailed on ; but all that is really needed is to 
remove the burs about the nail holes,' file off the sharp 
edges of the shoe and round the heels, taking care to apply 
the file hard to that part of both heels which comes next 




to the frog, so as to slant it from the ground upward away 
from the frog, but you must be careful not to make the 
ground surface of the web at the heels narrower in so 
doing; Fig. 9 shows the foot surface, and Fig. 10 the 
ground surface of a near fore shoe. 

In Fig. 9 A is the clip at the toe, B 1 the outer quarter, 
B 2 the inner quarter, C 1 the outer heel, 2 the inner heel, 
D the seating, E the flat surface for the crust to bear upon, 
F the heels beveled off away from the frog. 



388 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



In Fig. 10 A is the toe turned up out of the line of 
wear, B 1 the outer and B 2 the inner quarter, 1 the 
outer and 2 the inner heels, D the ground surface of the 
web, as wide at the heel as it is at the toe, E the fuller 
carried all round the shoe, F the inner quarter and heel 
slightly beveled from the foot to the ground. 



NAILS. 

I must say a few words about the nails before wc come 
to nailing on the shoe, because the nails in common use, 
Fig. 11, are as badly formed as they well can be ; their 
short wedge-shaped heads, wide at tlie top, a, and narrow 

at the bottom, &, with shanks spring- 
ing suddenly from the head without 
any shoulder and ending in a long, 
narrow point, c, are most unsafe to 
trust a shoe to. The head of such 
a nail can never perfectly fill the 
hole in the shoe, for the wide top 
gets tied either in the fuller or the 
upper part of the hole before the 
lower part has reached the bottom, 
and when the shoe is about half 
worn out the head of the nail is 
gone and the shank alone is left in 
the hole to keep the shoe on. Now 
the nails I advise you to use, and 
you had better always make them 
for yourself, Fig. 12, should have 
heads which are straight sided at the 
upper part, f7, and gradually die 
away at the lower part into the shank so as to form a 
shoulder, e, which will entirely block the bottom of the nail 
hole ; the point/ at the end of the shank should be short 
and broad to enable you io form good stout clinches, which 
will assist in keeping the shoe firmly in its place until it is 
quite worn out. 




Fig. 11. Fig. 12. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 389 

If you compare the head of the nail, Fig. 12, at d and e 
with the head of the nail Fig. 1 1 at a and h, you will at 
once see that the head of Fig. 12 is better calculated to fill 
every part of the nail hole than the head of Fig. 11 with 
its broad top and narrow neck could possibly do 5 and if 
you compare the points of the two nails at /and c you will 
readily perceive which promises the firmer clinch. 

Your nails should be made of the very best nail rods you 
can get, and they should not be cooled too quickly, but left 
spread about to cool by degrees ; the longer in reason they 
are cooling, the tougher they will become ; they should not 
however be allowed to lie in a heap to cool, the mass keeps 
in the heat too long and makes them almost as brittle as if 
they had been cooled too suddenly. 



NAILING ON THE SHOE. 

If the nails are of a proper shape, the holes straight 
through the shoe, and the shoe fits the foot, it requires very 
little skill to nail it on ; only put the point of the nail in 
the middle of the hole, keep the nail upright, and drive it 
straight, it must come out in the right place, low down in 
the crust, without the possibility of wounding the sensitive 
parts of the foot. The shank of the nail will pass straight 
through the substance of the crust, and gain a good, firm 
hold of it, leaving you the strongest part, from which to 
form a clinch. The clinches should be short and broad, 
and not thinned by rasping away any of their substance, but 
hammered at once into a slight notch made in the hoof 
under each ; and the rasp should never be allowed to go 
over them after they have been hammered down, for the 
sharp steel rasp is almost sure to cut through the soft iron 
clinch just where it turns down and leave the appearance 
of a clinch, when in truth it has been cut off at the bend, 
and the loose end only remains buried in the notch in the 
hoof. You will do good by rasping below the clinches, 
because you will thereby remove the broken horn that the 
former nails have destroyed 5 but on no account ever use 



390 



THE HOME MECHANIC, 



the rasp above the clinches, if yoii do you will tear off the 
thin outer covering of the hoof which is placed there to pre- 
vent the escape of the natural moisture and to keep the 
horn tough, and if you rasp it away you will expose the 
horn to the air and it will soon become dry and brittle and 
make the hoof difficult to nail to. This thin covering of 
the hoof is like the shining covering of a man's finger nail j 




Fig. 13. 

and most people know from experience how dry and brittle 
and easily broken a finger nail becomes when by accident 
it loses that covering. 

Fig. 13 represents the ground surface of a near fore foot 
with the shoe nailed on by five nails, and shows how the 
shoe should look in its place on the foot ; Fig. 14 repre- 
presents the same shoe made transparent, so that the parts 
of the foot that are covered by it are seen through it. A 
shows the crust B the bars, and C the heels of the hoof 
supported by the shoe. By this plan of shoeing the whole 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



391 



of the inner quarter and heel are left free to expand, and I 
have Invariably found in consequence of this freedom of ex- 
pansion, that corns, however long they may have existed in 
the feet, disappear altogether after a horse has been shod a 
few times in this manner, and never return while the same 
plan of shoeing is continued. 

I may here observe that the nature of a c orn in a horse's 




foot is very little understood. It is generally supposed to 
resemble a corn on a man's foot, and like it to be caused 
by pressure from a shoe, whereas it is a totally different 
thing, and is caused in a totally different manner. It is a 
bruise of the sensitive sole which lies above the horny sole, 
and is not caused by the heel of the shoe at all, but by the 
heel of the coffin bone which is forced into the hoof by the 
weight of the horse when in action, and as the hoof from 
bad shoeing is not able to expand and make room for it, 
some of the small blood vessels become wounded and the 
blood which escapes from them filters through the horny 



393 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

sole and at last shows itself on its under surface at the cor- 
ner of the inner heel, leading most persons to believe that 
the bruise began there, whereas in truth it ends there. 



SHOEING WITH LEATHER. 

Many tender footed horses travel best with a covering 
over the sole, ajid leather is commonly used for the purpose. 
In former editions of my book I recommended gutta percha 
and waterproofed felt as being far preferable to leather in 
consequence of their power of resisting wet, and thereby 
retaining their form under every change of circumstance ; 
but I am sorry to say that the gutta percha of com- 
merce is now so badly adulterated as to be utterly use- 
less for horseshoeing purposes, and waterproofed felt, such 
as I formerly used, is no longer to be procured. I have 
endeavored to iina some other substitute, but hitherto with- 
out success, and I am obliged to submit to using leather 
in spite of its defects, which are certainly great ; for when 
it is wetted it becomes soft and heavy and yielding, but in 
drying again it contracts and hardens, causing frequent 
changes of pressure which are very undesirable qualities in 
the covering for a horse's frog ; still whatever covering you 
use must be put on the same way, so I will at once tell you 
how to do it. You must fit the shoe to the foot with as 
much care as if nothing were to be put under it, and when 
it is filed up and ready to be put on, lay it with the foot 
surface downward on the covering whatever it may be, 
and mark the form of the shoe upon it with the end of the 
drawing knife, then cut the piece out, put it in its place 
upon the shoe and fix them both in the A^ce, which will 
hold them close together while you carefully cut the edge 
of the covering until it agrees with the edge of the shoe, 
then turn them in the vice together so as to bring the heels 
of the shoe uppermost, and cut out a piece from heel to heel, 
slightly curved downward in the center that nothing may 
be left projecting for the ground to lay hold of. The next 
thing to be done is to smear the whole of the under surface 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 






of the foot witli common tar mixed with a little grease, but 
be sure that you never use gas tar instead of the other, 
for it dries up the horn and makes it m, hard as flint, whereas 
common tar keeps it moist and tough ; then you must fill 
the hollow between the frog and the crust on both sides 
with oakum (which is better for the purpose than tow) 




Mg. 15. 

dipped in the tar, pressing it well into the hollow until the 
mass rises abDve the level of the frog on each side, but 
n3ver put any oakum upou the frog itself excepting a piece 
in the cleft to prevent the dirt and girt working in ; very 
little is ever wanted on the sole in front of the frog. The 
use of the oakum is to protect the foot, but more especially 
the navicular joint, which lies above and across the frog, 
from being jarred by stones on a hard road, and the best 
way of doing this is to fill the space on each side of the frog 
with oakum in such a manner that it shall share the pres- 
sure with the frog and prevent the full force of the shock 
from falling on the navicular joint. 



394 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



The usual mode of stopping a foot is to place a thick 
wad of tow over the whole surface of the sole and frog, 
making bad worse by adding to the projection of the frog, 
and causing it to meet the ground sooner and receive the 
full force of the jar. 

Fig. 15 shows a foot pro^prly stopped and ready for shoe- 




Fig. 16. 

ing. The ends of the oakum that is placed in the cleft of 
the frog, are collected together and carried across the body 
of the frog, to be mixed with the oakum on one side, which 
keeps it in its place in the cleft and prevents it working out 
behind. 

You must now nail on the shoe with five nails, exactly 
as you would do if there was nothing under it, and if you 
have attended to the fitting there will be no fear of the shoe 
shifting or coming off. 

Fig. 16 shows a foot properly shod with leather, and also 
the shape to which the leather should be cut between the 
heels of the shoe. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 395 



THE HIND SHOE. 



The hind shoe, like the fore shoe, should he brought in 
at the heels and be made to follow the exact shape of the 
hoof J but as the weight of the horse falls differently on the 
hmd feet to what it does on th3 fore feet, and as the ridet 
often obliges the horse to stop suddenly and without warn- 
ing, when he is least prepared to do so, it becomes neces- 
sary to guard against strains of the hock and ba<ik sinews 
by raising the heels of the shoe, but this should be done in 
such a manner as will give both heels an even bearing on 
the ground. Calkins may be, and I believe are, useful to 
heavy draught horses, but they are objectionable for fast 
work J and turning down the outside heel alone should 
never be done, it throws the weight upon the inner quarter, 
which is the least able to bear it, and strains the fetlock 
joint. The plan I have adopted for many years is to have 
the last inch and a half toward the heel forged deeper and 
thicker than any other part of the shoe, the heels are then 
made red hot and the shoe is put in the vice with the hot 
heels projecting, which are beaten down with «l hammer until 
they are about an inch long, and then the sides are made 
even and the foot and ground surfaces level on the anvil. 
I have found horses travel pleasanter and receive less 
damage to their hocks, back sinews and fetlock joints with 
these heels to their hind shoes ihan they have with any 
others that I have tried. 

The toe of the hind shoe is exposed to great wear, and 
should be made stout and thick and rather pointed, with a 
small clip in the middle to prevent the shoe from being 
driven backward, and the back edge of the web should be 
rounded off to guard against over reach. The toe should 
rest fairly on the ground, to enable the horse to get a 
good purchase for throwing his weight forward. It is a 
bad plan to make the toe broad and to place clips at the 
side of it ; it is nearly certain to cause the very evil it was 
intended to prevent, by making the horse " forge " as it is 
called. 

Many persons think that " forging " is caused by the 



396 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



front of the toe of the hind shoe striking against the heel 
of the fore shoe, but that is a mistake ; the sound is pro- 
duced in this way : when the horse raises his fore foot from 
the ground and does not instantly throw it forward but 
dwells in the action, the hind foot following quickly is forced 
into the opening of the fore shoe before the fore foot gets 
out of the way, and the corners of the broad toe, made still 
broader by the clips at the sides, are struck against the inner 
rim of the web of the fore shoe on each side just behind 
the quarters, and cause the unpleasant clicking sound. 
The way to avoid this disagreeable noise is to make the 
hind shoe narrow at the toe and rather pointed with a small 
clip in the center, and to leave the hoof projecting beyond 
the shoe across the toe ; then the projecting horn of the 
hind foot will enter the opening of the fore shoe held up to 
receive it, and be stopped by the sole or frog before any 
part of the two shoes can come together, and the noise will 
cease. 

I have said that you should round off the back edge of 




Fig. 17. 

the web at the toe to prevent an over reach. It is com- 
monly supposed that this also is done by the front of the* 
toe, whereas it is always done by the back edge, which, in 
a well worn shoe, becomes as sharp as a knife. Now if ihQ 
horse in galloping does not lift his fore foot from the ground 
and throw it forward in time to make way for the hind foot, 
the hind foot over reaches it and cuts a piece out of the soft 
parts above the heel and produces a very troublesome 
wound. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



^97 



The hind foot expands less than the fore foot, still you 
should place the nail holes so as not to confine the foot. 
For some years I shod niy light horses as an experiment 
with only six nails in each hind shoe, and I found it to 
answer very well for them, but six were not enough to pre- 
vent the hind shoes of my large carnage horses from occa- 




sionally shifting on their feet ; I therefore shod tbem with 
seven, and I recommend you as a general rule to put seven 
nails into the hind shoes of all hunters and other horses 
that are likely to be frequently called upon to exert the 
muscular powers of their hind quarters to their fullest ex- 



398 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

tent. The holes on the inside should be stamped closer 
together than those on the outside, and they should be 
placed forward toward the toe so as leave the inside quarter 
and heel free to expand. A small foot can be safely shod 
with six nails, and no foot can ever require more than seven. 

Fig. 17 represents the side view of a near hind shoe with 
the foot surface uppermost, showing a level portion for the 
crust to rest upon, the heels being raised in the manner I 
have described above, and the toe made stout and pointed 
with a small clip in the center. 

Fig. 18 shows the ground surface of a near hind shoe 
with the toe rather pointed and the back edge rounded, and 
the nail holes properly placed when the foot is large enough 
to require seven. 



CUTTING. 

Horses strike their feet against the opposite leg in such a 
variety of ways both before and behind, that it is impos- 
sible to form a shoe that would suit every case of " cut- 
ting ;" I therefore advise you, whether the horse cuts before 
or behind, to fasten something like a boot, covered thickly 
with wetted pipeclay, over the place where he strikes the 
leg, and then trot him along the road ; he will soon pick off 
some of the pipeclay with the opposite foot, and show you 
the exact part of the shoe he strikes with, which you can 
easily alter in the new shoe ; and you will often be surpris- 
ed to see how small a matter causes the mischief. 



REMOVING. 

The time at which a horse^s shoes should be removed, 
must depend very much upon circumstances. If a horse 
wears his shoes out in less than a month, they had better 
r.ot be removed ; and horses with thin, weak horn, which 
grows slowly, are likewise better left alone between each 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 399 

shoeing, unless their shoes last seven or eight weeks, in 
which case they should be removed once within the time ; 
but horses with strong feet, and plenty of horn, that wear 
their shoes four or five weeks, should have them removed 
at the end of a fortnight ; and when the horses are doing 
so little work, or wear their shoes so lightly that they last 
over two months, they should be removed every two or three 
weeks, and at the second removal the shoes should be put 
in the fire, and refitted, or the feet will out-grow the shoes, 
as the horn grows much quicker when a horse is idle than 
it does when he is in full work. 

Having now gone carefully through all the circumstances 
necessary to good shoeing, and stated the reasons why cer- 
tain things should ahvays be done, and certain other things 
never done, I will repeat shortly the few things which are 
to he done J in the order in which they occur, and you will 
find that they are really very few, when separated from the 
reasons and explanations. 

Raise the clinches with the buifer. 

Have only one foot bare at a time. 

Pare out the foot ; but leave the frog alone. 

Cut ofl" the heels of the shoe, as 1 have directed. 

Open the nail holes straight through the shoe. 

Form a clip at the toe, and turn up the toe of the shoe. 

Fit the shoe with great care to the toe, quarters and 
heels. 

Heat the shoe, and apply it to the foot, to see that the 
crast has a fair bearing upon it. 

Cool the shoe, " back hole ^^ it, and file it up. 

Nail it on with five nails, coming out low in the crust. 

Hammer down the clinches without rasping them, and 
only rasp the hoof below them. 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 



I have said that five nails are sufficient to hold on a fore 
shoe at any kind of work, in any country and at any pace, 
and I again advise you to employ that number, placing 



400 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

three on the outside of the shoe, and two on the inside, be- 
cause I know from experience that with the very common- 
est care on the part of the smith, they will hold a shoe 
through any difficulty of ground or pace, but I am prepared 
to prove that they are more than sufficient for the purpose, 
and to show that many smiths can and do keep on a fore 
shoe by three nails only, two placed on the outside and one 
on the inside. 

For sixteen years I never, in a single instance, had more 
then three nails in the fore shoe of any one of my six horses, 
and they have all been shod with leather, or some other 
covering to the sole during the whole time ; some of them 
did not particularly require it, but having commenced it as 
an experiment, and finding no inconvenience from it, I have 
gone on with it, even with a carriage horse, which has 
grown to rather more than seventeen hands high, and he too 
has continued to carry his shoes, leather and all, quite safe- 
ly with only three nails in each fore shoe during the four 
years that he has been in my possession. 

Cases are recorded of horses having done a variety of 
work with only three nails in each fore shoe 5 and I will 
now add another which happened to a horse of my own, 
which ought to set the question at rest, supposing any doubt 
still to exist as to the capability of three nails to hold a 
shoe. The horse was twenty-eight years old at the time ; 
he was a high stepper, and impetuous in company, and had 
large flat feet which grew horn very sparingly, so that it 
was quite necessary to protect his feet by a stout shoe with 
leather and stopping under it. He happened to be a par- 
ticularly good lady's horse for one who had plenty of nerve 
and could ride well, and I lent him to join in a large riding 
party of ladies and gentlemen on a visit at a friend's house, 
who took long daily rides in a very hilly district regardless 
of pace, over commons covered with heath, furze and stones, 
through rough stony lanes and in every variety of ground, 
and although his shoes had been on ten days when I sent 
him away he returned to me at the end of five weeks with 
his shoe worn out certainly, but firm on his feet and the 
clinches all close. I mention this last circumstance be- 
cause it is a proof that his shoes had been put on with pro- 



1:he home mechanic. 401 

per care ; for whenever you find a clinch rise you may bo 
certain that you have done something wrong ; either the 
crust did not bear upon the shoe all round or the nail holes 
did not pass straight through the shoe, or the heads of the 
nails did not fill the bottom of the holes ; any one of these 
things may cause a clinch to raise, and a risen clinch is a 
sure sign of careless shoeing. 

I may mention as further proof of the sufficiency of three 
nails to keep on a shoe, that Major General Key, when in 
command of the 15th Hussars, stationed at Exeter, England, 
thirteen years ago, had four horses shod with three nails 
only in each fore shoe. Finding how many horses were 
shod he was induced to try the plan upon his, and felt so 
satisfied with the result that he immediately had the others 
similarly shod ; and an officer in the Prussian hussars wrote 
me that his horses also were shod with three nails only in 
each lore shoe, and that he found no difficulty whatever in 
keeping their shoes on. 

But in order still further to test the power of three nails 
to hold a shoe, I obtained permission of a builder to have 
one of his horses, which was employed in drawing heavy 
building materials through a deep clay meadow, shod with 
three nails only in each fore shoe. The horse in question 
was fifteen hands three and a half inches high, and the 
shoes that were put on him were common wagon horse 
shoes with stamped holes and no fullering, and each shoe 
weighed one pound fourteen ounces, and he carried them 
safely for a month notwithstanding the heavy loads he daily 
drew through the deep, clinging clay in which he worked. 

I could state several other cases of successful shoeing 
with three nails if it were necessary, but as I have no inten- 
tion of recommending you to trust to such slender fastening 
as your general plan of shoeing, I may content myself with 
those which I have already recorded ; nevertheless I would 
advise you not to be perfectly satisfied with yourself until 
you have tried your hand at keeping on some shoes by three 
nails only ; because a bad fitter cannot do it, but a good fit- 
ter always can. The principal use of such an experiment 
will be to show you, that you may safely leave out one or 
even two nails in a case of broken crust, or a " shaky '' place. 



402 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

or indeed whenever from any cause you may think it desir- 
able to do so 

I think I have proved beyond dispute that a fore shoe 
can be kept on by three nails, therefore he must be a sorry 
bungler indeed who cannot manage it with five. 

Although 1 have nothing new to ofi"er, and nothing to 
alter as regards the principles of Horse Shoeing, which I 
have endeavored to inculcate in the preceding editions of 
my book, I considered that it would not be altogether un- 
interesting to those whose fears still deter them from adopt- 
ing it, if in putting forth another edition I recorded some 
few of the confirmatory results of the further experience 
since the former editions were published, but more especially 
those derived from the hunting field toward the close of 
such a season as 1860, marked as it was by an unprecedented 
quantity of wet, which rendered the country heavier and 
deeper and more trying to the security of horses^ shoes, than 
any that had preceded it for several years. I found on re- 
ferring to the register kept at the Devon and Exeter Insti- 
tution, that the quantity of rain which fell during the three 
months of November, December, and January of that winter, 
amounted to 11 J inches, while the average for the same 
three months of the preceding five years showed less than 
half that quantity, the amount being only 5 J inches. 

It may perhaps suffice without enumerating all the horses 
which had carried their shoes safely through that season 
with five nails, if I confine my remarks to four belonging to 
two gentlemen who are both above tne average weight, and 
one of them considerably above the average hight of their 
compeers ; they are both good men across country, ride well 
to hounds and are always to be found in the best places dur- 
ing a run ; one of them had shod his horses on my plan for 
four or five years, relieving their feet occasionally in the 
summer by omitting two of the five nails °, he therefore had 
no fears, and was not at all surprised that he had lost no 
shoes ; but the other to whom it was an experiment, showed 
great misgiving at first, but two or three shoeings convinced 
him that his fears were groundless, and he has now more con- 
fidence in five nails, than he had a year before in seven or 
eight ; because then the loss of a shoe was no uncommon 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 403 

thing with him, whereas now the thought of such an occur- 
rence never enters his head. The first horse he asked 
me to see shod for him, is one that has gained for himself a 
high character in Ireland as a steeple chase horse, and I 
must say that his legs bore ample testimony to their famil- 
iarity with stone walls, they were perfectly round and dis-, 
figured by sundry bony lumps ; nevertheless his owner had 
given a large price for him. He is a powerful lasting horse, 
and is not to be stopped by a six foot wall. When I saw 
him first he was very badly shod, and had seven nails in 
each foro shoe, which clearly had a good deal to do with the 
weak horn and round legs he possessed at that time ,* for 
very soon after his feet had been freed from the confinement 
caused by the inside nails, nis legs became less round, al- 
though he had been regulany hunted in turn with the other 
horses ; and at the third shoeing the suspensary ligaments 
could be distinctly traced by the finger, and some weeks 
afterward when I next saw him shod, they were perfectly 
visible and his legs had become almost flat ; he had more- 
over a very fair quantity ot dead horn in his feet, showing 
that the growth of horn had begun to increase, which at 
previous shoeings had been very deficient ; and I had no 
doubt when the hunting season was quite over, that the re- 
lief afforded by the withdrawal of two nails, would cause 
very considerable further improvement both in his legs and 
feet. But the most satisfactory result of the season was 
furnished by the other horse belonging to the same gentle- 
man, which he had regularly ridden in turn with the one 
above mentioned ; this horse, although undeniable in the 
hunting field, had large flat brittle feet, which made riding 
him in some places rather nervous work, and I recommended 
his owner to try him with five nails and leather, and after 
indulging in the expression of numerous doubts and fears he 
consented, provided I would see it done, which of course I 
did, and great was his relief at the end of the first day to 
find that his horse had not only carried him more pleasantly 
than usual through very deep ground, but that he had 
brought his shoes home safe and unmoved on his feet ; this 
gave him confidence and he cdu tinned to hunt him in leath- 
er secured by five nails ; and he told me that he verily be- 



404 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



lieved the horse had scarcely ever been less than fetlock 
deep during any day he was out in the preceding three 
months, frequently knee deepp and on the day previous to 
our conversation he was bogged up to his tail, but he had not 
lost a shoe and he would not take double the money that he 
offered to sell him for in the early part of the season. 

I will add one other case for the purpose of showing the 
amount of relief, that was obtained from the removal of one 
nail from the inner quarter of each fore foot of an old thorough 
bred hunter, which one of the above named gentlemen had 
purchased in the early part of the season. He was the 
very beau ideal of what a weight carrying hunter should be ; 
perfect master of his business and well known in most of the 
best hunting counties in England 5 but time and hard work 
had somewhat told on him, and prevented his recovering 
the effects of a severe day quite as readily as he used to do 
in times past. All this my friend 'was fully prepared for, 
but he was not prepared for the state in which he found him 
on the morning after the first severe day he had encounter- 
ed J and he begged me to come and look at his " poor horse" 
with him, which I did and it has rarely fallen to my lot to 
behold a more pitiable object than that poor beast presented ,• 
he was standing in the middle of his box apparently unable 
and most unquestionably unwilling to move ; his fore legs 
slightly separated, to prevent the weight of his forehand 
falling in a direct line on his feet, and his head and neck 
considerably lowered for the same purpose. It was at once 
evident to me that his distress arose from pain in the feet ; I 
asked my friend how he was shod, and he told me that he 
had not looked at his shoes, thinking they must be all right 
as he came to him direct from a hunting stable ; but I did 
not feel quite so sure that they were all right, so I examined 
his hoofs as he stood and found a nail placed far back in the 
inner quarter of each fore foot ; I immediately sent for the 
smith and had the clinches of the two offending nails cut 
off, and the nails partly punched out while his feet were 
still on the ground, but before they could be entirely with- 
drawn fi'om the shoes, it became necessary to raise each foot 
which was a difficult matter, for he would have submitted 
to be pushed over rather than attempt to rest his weight on 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 405 

Xke foot only ; however, by supporting him well on the 
;ther side it was accomplished, and the back nail of each 
,bot removed. I visited him again in about three hours, 
and I confess I was astonished to find him quietly feeding, 
and evincing no indisposition to move to either side, or even 
to turn about when I required him to do so ; the character 
of his expression was changed, and he did not look like the 
same horse. 

On the following morning he was walked out for exercise, 
and on the second day I saw his old shoes taken oif and new 
ones put on, secured by five nails without his having shown 
the smallest uneasiness ; but when my friend mentioned the 
circumstance to a gentleman, who had hunted regularly 
from his boyhood and really knows a great deal about it, he 
strongly advised him against hunting with only five nails ; 
he said it might do in the stable or at exercise, but it would 
not do with hounds, My friend, however, took a different 
view of the matter ; for having witnessed the relief which 
was obtained in so short a time from the removal of those 
two nails, while the horse was standing still in the stable, 
he wisely concluded that their presence in the shoes during 
a severe run must have been very inconvenient, to say the 
least of it ; and he therefore determined to shoe him with 
only five nails for the future, and never again saw him more 
distressed on the morning after a hard day, than any other 
horse would have been under similar circumstances. 



406 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



YOUAH ON DISEASES OF THE FOOT. 



INFLAMMATION OF FOOT— ACUTE FOUNDER 

The sensible laminse, or fleshy plates on the front and 
sides of the coffin-bone, being replete with blood-vessels, 
are like every other vascular (filled with blood vessels) part, 
liable to inflammation, from its usual causes, and particu- 
larly from the violence with which, in rapid and long con- 
tinued action, these parts are strained and bruised. When 
battered and bruised by severe races or journeys, it will be 
no wonder if inflammation of the over-worked parts should 
ensue ; and the occurrence of it may probably be produced, 
and the disease aggravated by the too prevalent absurd 
mode of treating the animal. If a horse that has been rid- 
den or driven hard is suflPered to stand in the cold, or if his 
feet are washed and not speedily dried, he is very likely to 
have " fever in the feet." There is no more fruitful source 
of inflammation in the human being, or the brute, than these 
sudden changes of temperature. The danger is not confined 
to change from heat to cold. Sudden transition from cold 
to heat is as injurious, and therefore it is that so many horses, 
after having been ridden far in frost and snow, and placed 
immediately in a hot stable, and littered up to the knees, are 
attacked by this malady. 

Sometimes there is a sudden change of inflammation from 
one organ to another. A horse may have labored for several 
days under evident inflammation of the lungs ; all at once 
that will subside, and the disease will appear in the feet, or 
inflammation of the feet may follow similar affections in 
the bowels or the eyes. In case of severe inflammation of the 
lungs, it may not be bad practice to remove the shoes and 
poultice the feet. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 407 

To the attentive observer the syiiiptoms are clearly 
marked, and yet there is no disease so often overlooked by 
the groom and the carter, and even by the veterinary sur- 
geon. The disease may assume an acute or chronic form. 
The earliest symptoms of fever in the feet are fidgetiness^ 
frequent shifting of the for^-legs, but no pawing, much less 
any attempt to reach the belly with the hind feet. The 
pulse is quickened, the flanks heaving, the nostrils red, and 
the horse, by his anxious countenance, and possibly moan- 
ing, indicating great pain. Presently he looks a^out his 
litter, as if preparing to lie down, but he does not do so im- 
mediately ; he continues to shift his weight from foot to foot 5 
he is afraid to draw his feet sufficiently under him for the 
purpose of lying down ; but at length he drops. The cir- 
cumstance of his lying down at an early period of the disease 
will sufficiently distinguish inflammation of the feet from 
that of the lungs, in which the horse obstinately persists in 
standing until he drops from mere exhaustion. His quiet- 
ness when down will distinguish it from colic or inflamma- 
tion of the bowels^ in both of which the horse is up and 
down, and frequently rolling and kicking when down. 
When the grievance is in the feet, the horse experiences so 
much relief from getting rid of the weight painfully distend- 
ing the inflamed and highly sensible laminae, that he is 
glad to lie as long as he can. He will likewise, as clearly 
as in inflammation of the lungs or bowels, point out the seat 
of disease by looking at the part. His muzzle will often 
rest on the feet or the affected foot. He must be inatten- 
tive who is no^ aware of what all this indicates. 

If the feet are now examined, they will be found evident- 
ly hot. The patient will express pain if they are slightly 
rapped with a hammer, and the artery at the pastern will 
throb violently. No great time will now pass, if the disease 
is suffered to pursue its course, before he will be perfectly 
unable to rise ; or, if he is forced to get up, and one foot is 
lifted, he will stand with difficulty on the other, or perhaps 
drop at once from intensity of pain. 

The treatment will resemble that of other inflammation?, 
(see concluding paragraph under " Chronic Founder,") with 
such differences as ihe situation of the disease suggests. 



408 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Bleeding is indispensable 5 and that to its fullest extent. 
If the disease is confined to the forefeet, four quarts of 
blood should be taken as soon as possible from the toe of 
each, and in the manner already described ; care being taken 
to open the artery as well as the vein. The feet may like- 
wise be put into warm water, tft quicken the flow of the 
blood, and increase the quantity abstracted. Poultices of 
linseed meal made very soft, should cover the whole of the 
foot and pastern, and be frequently renewed, which will 
promote evaporation from the neighboring parts, and possi- 
bly through the pores of the hoof, and by softening and 
rendering supple the hoof, will relieve its painful pressure 
on the swelled and tender parts beneath. More fully to 
accomplish this last purpose, the shoe should be removed, 
the sole pared as thin as possible, and the crust, and par- 
ticularly the quarters, well rasped. All this must be done 
gently and with a great deal of patience, for the poor animal 
can scarcely bear his feet to be meddled with. There used 
to be occasional doubt as to the administration of physic, 
from fear of metastasis (shifting) of inflammation which has 
sometimes occurred, and been generally fatal. When, how- 
ever, there is so much danger of losing the patient from the 
original attack, we must run the risk of the other. Sedative 
and cooling medicines should be diligently administered, 
consisting of digitalis, nitre, and emetic tartar. 

If no amendment is observed, three quarts of blood should 
be taken from each foot on the following day. In extreme 
cases, a third bleeding of two quarts may be justified, and, 
instead of the poultice, cloths kept wet with water in which 
nitre has been dissolved immediately before, and in the pro- 
portion of an ounce of nitre to a pound of water, may be 
wrapped round the feet. About the third day a blister may 
be tried, taking in the whole of the pastern and the coronet ; 
but a cradle must previously be put on the neck of the 
horse, and the feet must be covered after the blister^ or they 
will probably be sadly blemished. The horse should be 
kept on mash diet, unless green meat can be procured for him; 
and even that should not be given too liberally, nor should 
he, in the slightest degree, be coaxed to eat. When he ap- 
pears to be recovering, his getting on his feet should not be 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 409 

hurried. It should be left perfectly to his own discretion ; 
nor should even walking exercise be permitted until he stands 
firm on his feet. When that is the case, and the season 
will permit, two months' run at grass will be very service- 
able. 

It is not always, however, or often that inflammation of 
the feet is thus easily subdued : and, if it is subdued, it 
sometimes leaves after it some fearful consequences. The 
loss of the hoof is not an unfrequent one About six or 
seven days from the first attack, a slight separation will be- 
gin to appear between the coronet and the hoof. This 
should be carefully attended to, for the separated horn will 
never again unite with the parts beneath, but the disunion 
will extend, and the hoof will be lost. It is true that a 
new hoof will be formed, but it will be smaller in size, and 
weaker than the first, and will rarely stand hard work. 
When this separation is observed, it will be a matter of 
calculation with the proprietor of the horse whether he will 
suffer the medical treatment to proceed. 



CHRONIC FOUNDER. 

This is a species of founder insidious in its attack, and 
destructive to the horse. It is a milder form of the pre- 
ceding disease. There is lameness, but it is not so severe 
as in the former case. The horse stands as nsual. The 
crust is warm, and that warmth is constant, but is not 
often probably greater than in a state of health. The 
surest symptom is the action of the animal. It is dia- 
metrically opposite to that in the navicular disease. The 
horse throws as much of his weight as he can on the poste- 
rior parts of his feet. 

The treatment should be similar to that recommended 
for the acute disease — blood letting, poultices, fomenta- 
tions and blisters, and the last much sooner and much more 
frequently than in the former disease. 



410 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



PUMICED FEET. 

The sensible and horny little plates which were elonga- 
ted and partially separated daring the intensity of the in- 
flammation of founder, will not always perfectly unite again, 
or will have lost much of their elasticity, and the coflBn- 
bone, no longer fully supported by them, presses upon the 
sole, and the sole becomes flattened, or convex, from this 
unnatural weight, and the horse acquires a pumiced foot. 
This will also happen when the animal is used too soon 
after an attack of inflammation of the feet, and before the 
laminae have regained suflBcient strength to support the 
weight of the horse, or to contract again by their elastic 
power when they have yielded to the weight. When the 
coffin-bone is thus thrown on the sole, and renders it pum- 
iced, the crust at the front of the hoof will ^^fall in^'' leav- 
ing a kind of hollow about the middle of it. 

Pumiced feet, especially in horses with large, wide feet, 
are frequently produced without this acute inflamtaation. 
Undue work, and especially much battering of the feet on 
the pavement, will extend and sprain these laminse so much 
that they will not have the power to contract, and thus the 
coffin-bone will be thrown backward on the sole. A very 
important law of nature will unfortunately be soon active 
here. When pressure is applied to any part, the absorb- 
ents become busy in removing it ; so, whcR the coffin-bone 
begins to press upon the sole, the sole becomes thin from 
the increased wear and tear to which it is subjected by 
contact with the ground, and also because these absorbents 
are rapidly taking it away. 

This is one of the diseases of the feet for which there is 
no cure. No skill is competent to effect a reunion between 
the separated fleshy and horny laminae, or to restore to 
them the strength and elasticity of which they have been 
deprived, or to take up that hard, homy substance which 
speedily fills the space between the crust and the receding 
coffin-bone. 

All that can be done in the way of palliation is by shoe- 
ing. Nothing must press on the projecting and pumiced 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 411 

part. If the projection is not considerable, a thick bar- 
shoe is the best thing that can be applied 5 but should this 
sole have much descended, a shoe with a very wide web, 
bevelled off so as not to press on the part, may be used. 
These means of relief, however, are only temporary, the 
disease will proceed ; and at no great distance of time the 
horse will be useless. 



CONTRACTION. 

It must be premised that there is a great deal more hor- 
ror of contracted heels than there is occasion for. Many 
persons reject a horse at once if the quarters are tviring in ; 
but the fact is, that although this is an unnatural form of 
the hoof, it is slow of growth, and nature kindly makes 
that provision for the slowly altered form of the hoof which 
she does in similar cases — she accommodates the parts to 
the change of form. As the hoof draws in, the parts be- 
neath, and particularly the coffin-bone, and especially the 
heels of that bone diminish; or, after all, it is more a 
change of form than of capacity. As the foot lengthens in 
proportion as it narrows, so does the coffin-bone, and it is 
as perfectly adjusted as before to the box in which it is 
placed. Its laminae are in as intimate and perfect union 
with those of the crust as before the hoof had begun to 
change. On this account it is that many horses, with very 
contracted feet, are perfectly sound, and no horse should 
be rejected merely because he has contraction. He should 
undoubtedly be examined more carefully, and with consid- 
erable suspicion ; but if he has good action, and is other- 
wise unexceptional, there is no reason that the purchase 
should not be made. A horse with contracted feet, if he 
goes sound, is better than another with open but weak 
heels. 

The opinion is perfectly erroneous that contraction is the 
necessary consequence of shoeing. There can be no doubt 
that an inflexible iron ring being nailed to the foot prevents, 
to a very considerable degree, the descent of the sole and 



^^^ THE HOME MECHANIC. 

the expansion of the heels below ; and it is likewise proba- 
ble that when the expansion of the heels is prevented, they 
often begin to contract. But here, as before stated, nature 
makes provision for the change. Some gentlemen who are 
careful of their horses have driven them twenty years, and 
principally over the rough pavement of towns, without a 
day's lameness. Shoeing may be a necessary evil, but it is 
not the evil which many speculative persons have sup- 
posed it, and, notwithstanding its effects, the foot ordina- 
rily lasts longer than the legs ; nay, horsemen tell us that 
one pair of good feet is worth two pairs of legs. 

There is nothing in tbe appearance of the feet which 
would enable us to decide when contraction is or is not de- 
structive to the usefulness of the animal ; his manner of 
going, and his capability for work, must be oar guides. 
Lameness usually accompanies the beginning of contrac- 
tion ; it is the invariable attendant on rapid contraction, 
but it does not always exist when the wiring in is slow, or 
of long standing. 

A very excellent writer, particularly when treating of 
the foot of the horse, Mr. Blaine, has given us a long and 
correct list of the causes of injurious contraction, and most 
of them are, fortunately, under the control of the owner of 
the animal. He places at the head of them, neglect of 
paring. The hoof is continually growing, the crust is 
lengthening, and the sole is thickening. This is a provis- 
ion for the wear and tear of the foot in an unshod state j 
but when it is protected by a shoe, and none of the horn 
can be worn away by coming in contact with the ground, 
and the growth of horn continues, the hoof grows high, and 
the sole gets thick, and, in consequence of this, the descent 
of the sole and the expansion of the heels are prevented, 
and contraction is the result. The smith might lessen, if 
not prevent the evil, by carefully thinning the sole, and 
lowering the heels at each shoeing ; but the first of these is 
a matter of considerable labor, and the second could not be 
done effectually without being accompanied by the first, 
and, therefore, they are both neglected. Owners should 
often stand by and see that this is properly done. 

Wearing the shoes too long, especially when nails are 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 413 

placed nearer than they should be to the quarters to make 
the shoes hold, is another cause of contraction. There is 
no rule which admits of so little excejjtiou as that, once in 
about every three weeks, the growth of horn which the 
natural wear of the foot cannot get rid of, should be pared 
away — the toe should be shortened in most feet — the sole 
should be thinned, and the heels lowered. Every one who 
has carefully observed the shape of the horse's foot, must 
have seen that in proportion to its hight or neglected 
growth, it contracts and closes round the coronet. A low- 
heeled horse might have other serious defects, of which it 
will be our duty to speak, but he has seldom a contracted 
foot. 

Another source of contraction is the want of natural 
moisture. The hoof of the stable-horse kept from moist- 
ure becomes dry and unelastic, and, consequently, is ren- 
dered more subject to this disease. Hence the propriety of 
stopping the feet where there is the least tendency to con- 
traction. The intelligent and careful groom will not omit 
it a single night. Cowdung, with a small portion of clay 
to give it consistence, is a common and very good stopping. 
A better one is a piece of thick felt, cut to the shape of the 
sole, and soaked in water. The common stopping of tar 
and grease is peculiarly objectionable, for it closes the 
pores of the feet, and ultimately increases the dryness and 
brittleness which it was designed to remedy. 

Thrushes aid sometimes in producing contraction, but 
they are much oftener the consequence than the cause. 

The removal of the bars takes away a main impediment 
to contraction. Their use in assisting the expansion of the 
foot has been already stated, and should a disposition to 
contraction be produced by any other cause, the cutting 
away of the bars would hasten and aggravate the evil; 
but the loss of the bar would not of itself produce contrac- 
tion. 

The contraction, however, that is connected with perma- 
nent lameness, although increased by the circumstances 
which we have mentioned, usually derives its origin from a 
different source, and from one that acts violently and sud- 
denly. Inflammation of the little plates covering the cof- 



414 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



fin-bone is the most usual cause ; and a degree of mflam= 
niation not sufficiently intense to be characterized as acute 
founder, but quickly leading to sad results, may, and does 
spring from causes almost unsuspected. Something may 
depend upon the breed. Blood-horses are particularly lia- 
ble to contraction. Not only is the foot naturally small, 
' but it is disposed to become narrower at the heels. On 
the other hand, the broad, flat foot of the cart-horse is sub- 
ject to diseases enough, but contraction is seldom one of 
the number. In horses of equal blood, not a little seems 
to depend upon the color, and the dark chestnut is pro- 
verbially prone to contraction. 

Whatever is the cause of that rapid contraction or nar- 
rowing of the heels which is accompanied by severe lame- 
ness, the symptoms may be easily distinguished. While 
standing in the stable, the horse will point with, or place 
forward, the contracted foot ; or, if both feet are affected, 
he will alternately place one before the other. When he is 
taken out of the stable, his step will be peculiarly short 
and quick, and the feet will be placed gently and tenderly 
on the ground, or scarcely lifted from it in the walk or the 
trot. It would seem as if the slightest irregularity of sur- 
face would throw the animal down, and so it threatens to 
do, for he is constantly tripping and stumbling. If the 
fore-feet are carefully observed, one or both of them will be 
narrowed across the quarters and toward the heels. In a 
few cases, the whole of the foot appears to be contracted 
and shrunk ,• but in the majority of instances, while the 
heels are narrower, the foot is longer. The contraction 
appears sometimes in both heels : at other times in the 
inner heel only ; or, if both are affected, the inner one is 
wired in the most, either from the coronet to the base of the 
foot, or only or principally at the coronet — oftener near the 
base of the foot — but in most cases the hollow being 
greatest about mid-way between the coronet and the bot- 
tom of the foot. This irregularity on contraction, and \m- 
certainty as to the place of it, prove that it is some internal 
disorganization, the seat of which varies with the portion 
of the attachment between the hoof and the foot that was 
principally strained or injured. In every recent case, the 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 415 

contracted part will be hotter than the rest of the foot, and 
the sole will, in the majority of cases, be unnaturally con- 
cave. 

Of the treatment of contraction attended with lameness, 
little that is satisfactory ran be said. There have been va- 
rious mechanical contrivances, such as clips of a peculiar 
form, and a jointed shoe, which, when the foot was softened, 
was gradually pressed asunder at the heels by a screw ; 
but all have proved of no avail, for the disease speedily 
returned when the ordinary shoe was again applied to en- 
able the horse to work, aud work was required of him. 

If the action of the horse is not materialJy impaired, it is 
better to let the contraction alone, be it as great as it will. 
If the contraction has evidently produced considerable 
lameness, the owner of the horse will have to calculate be- 
tween his value, if cured, the expense of the cure, and the 
probability of failure. 

The medical treatment should alone be undertaken by a 
skillful veterinary surgeon, and it will principally consist in 
abating any inflammation that may exist, by local bleeding 
and physic, paring the sole to the utmost extent that it 
will bear ; rasping the quarters as deeply as can be, with- 
out their being too much weakened, or the coronary ring 
at all injured thereby ; rasping deeply likewise at the 
toe, and perhaps scoring at the toe. T'he horse is after- 
ward made to stand during the day in wet clay, placed in 
one of the stalls. He is at night moved into another stall, 
and his feet bound up thickly in wet cloths ; or he is 
turned out into wet pasturage, with tips, or, if possible, 
without them, and his feet are frequently pared out, and 
the quarters lightly rasped. In five or six months the horn 
will generally have grown down, when he may be taken 
up, and shod with shoes unattached by nails on the inner 
side of the foot, and put to gentle work. The foot will be 
found very considerably enlarged, aud the owner will, per- 
haps, think that the cure is accomplished. The horse may 
possibly, for a time, stand very gentle work, aud the inner 
side of the foot being left at liberty, its natural expansive 
process may be resumed : the interaal part of the foot, 
however, has not been healthily filled up with the expan- 



416 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

sion of the crust. If that expansion has been effected forward 
on the quarters, the crust will no longer be in contact with 
the lengthened and narrowed heels of the coffin-bone. 
There will not be the natural adhesion and strength, and a 
very slight cause, or even the very habit of contraction 
will, in spite of all care and the freedom of the inner quar- 
ter, in very many instances, cause the foot to wke in again 
as badly as before. 



THE NAVICULAR JOINT DISEASE. 

Many horses with well-formed and open feet become 
sadly and permanently lame, and veterinary surgeons have 
been puzzled to discover the cause. The farrier has had 
his convenient explanation, ^' the shoulder 5" but the scien- 
tific practitioner may not have been able to discover an 
ostensible cause of lameness in the whole limb. There is 
no one accustomed to horses who does not recollect an in- 
stance of this. 

Behind and beneath the lower pastern-bone, and behind 
and above the heel of the coffin-bone, is a small bone called 
the navicular or shuttle - bone. It is so placed as to 
strengthen the uni6n between the lower pastern and the 
coffin-bone, and to enable the flexor tendon, which passes 
over it in order to be inserted into the bottom of the coffin* 
bone, to act with more advantage. It forms a kind of 
joint with that tendon. There is a great deal of weight 
thrown on the navicular bone, and from the navicular bone 
on the tendon ; and there is a great deal of motion or play 
between them in the bending and extension of the pasterns. 

It is very easy to conceive that, from sudden concussion, 
or from rapid and overstrained motion, and that, perhaps, 
after the animal has been some time at rest, and the parts 
have not adapted themselves for motion, there may be too 
iruch play between the bone and the tendon — the delicate 
membrane which covers the bone, or the cartilage of the 
lione may be bruised, and inflamed, and destroyed; that all 
the painful effects of an inflamed and opened joint may en- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 417 

sue, and the horse be irrecoverably lame. Numerous dis- 
sections have shown that this joint, formed by the tendon 
and the bone, has been the frequent, and the almost invari- 
able seat ot these obscure lamenesses. The membrane 
covering the carjtilage of the bone has been found in an ul- 
cerated state ; the cartilage has been ulcerated and eaten 
away ; the bone has become carious or decayed, and bony 
adhesions have taken place between the navicular and the 
pastern and the coffin-bones, and this part of the foot has 
often become completely disorganized and useless. This 
joint is probably the seat of lameness not only in well- 
formed feet, but in those which become lame after contrac- 
tion. 

The cure of navicular disease is difficult and uncertain. 
The first and all-important point is the removal of the in- 
flammation in this very susceptible membrtine. Local 
bleeding, poulticing, and physic will be our principal re- 
sources. If there is contraction, this must, if possible, be 
removed by the means already pointed out. If there is no 
contraction, it will nevertheless be prudent to get rid of all 
surrounding pressure, and to unfetter as much as possible 
the inside heel of the coffin-bone, by paring the sole and 
rasping the quarters, and using the shoe without nails on 
the inner quarter, and applying cold poultices to the coro- 
net and the whole of the foot. This is a case, however, 
which must be turned over to the veterinary surgeon, for 
he alone, from his knowledge of the anatomy of the foot, 
and the precise seat of the disease, is competent to treat it. 
If attacked on its earliest appearance, and before ulceration 
of the membrane of the joint has taken place, it may be 
radically cured; but ulceration of the membrane will be 
with difficulty healed, and decay of the bone will forever 
remain. 

Blistering the coronet will often assist in promoting a 
cure by diverting the inflammation to another part, and it 
will materially quicken the growth of the horn. A seton 
passed through the frog by a skillful operator, and ap- 
proaching as nearly as possible to the seat of the disease, 
las been serviceable. 



418 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



SAND-CRACK 

This, as its name imports, is a crack or division of the 
hoof from above downward, and into which sand and dirt 
are too apt to insinuate themselves. It is so called because 
it most frequently occurs in sandy districts, the heat of the 
sand applied to the feet giving them a disposition to crack. 
It occurs both in the fore and the hind feet. In the fore 
feet it is usually found in the inner quarter, but occasion- 
ally in the outer quarter, because there is the principal 
stress or effort toward expansion in the foot, and the inner 
quarter is weaker than the outer. In the hind feet the 
crack is almost invariably found in the front, because in the 
digging of the toe into the ground in the act of drawing, 
the principal stress is in front. 

This is a most serious defect. It indicates a brittleness 
of the crust, sometimes natural, but oftener the consequence 
of mismanagement or disease, which, in spite of every 
means adopted, will probably be the som-ce of future an- 
noyance. On a hoof that has once been thus divided, no 
dependence can be placed, unless, by great care, the natu- 
ral suppleness of the horn has been restored and is retained. 

Sand-crack may happen in an instant, from a false step or 
over-exertion, and therefore a horse, although he may spring 
a sand-crack within an hour after the purchase, cannot be 
returned on that account. 

The crack sometimes does not penetrate through the horn. 
It then causes no lameness ; nevertheless, it must not be 
neglected. It shows that there is brittleness, which should 
induce the purchaser to pause j and, if proper means are not 
taken, it will generally soon penetrate to the quick. It 
should be pared or rasped fairly out, and, if the paring or 
rasping has been deep, the foot should be strengthened by 
a coating of pitch, with coarse tape bound over it, and a 
second coating of pitch covering this. 

If the crack has penetrated through the crust, and lame- 
ness has ensued, the case is more serious. It must be care- 
fully examined, in order to ascertain that no dirt or sand 
has got into itj the edges must be more considerably 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 419 

thinned, and if any fungus (proud flesh) is beginning to 
protrude through the crack, and is imprisoned there, it 
must be destroyed by the application of the butyr (chloride) 
of antimony. This is preferable to the cautery (hot iron), 
because the edges of the horn will not be thickened or 
roughened, and thus become a source of after-irritation. 
The firing iron must then be run deeply across, above and 
below the crack ; a pledget of dry tow being placed in the 
crack, in and over it, and the whole bound down as tightly 
as possible. On the third day the part should be examined, 
and the caustic again applied, if necessary ; but if the crack 
is dry, and defended by a hard horny crust, the sooner the 
pitch plaster is put on the better. 

The most serious case is, when from tread or neglect, the 
coronet is divided. The growth of horn proceeds from the 
coronary ligament, and unless this ligament is sound, the 
horn will grow down, disunited. The method to be here 
adopted, is to run the back of the firing iron over the coro- 
net where it is divided. Some inflammation will ensue j 
and when the scab produced by the cautery peels off, as it 
will in a few days, the division will be obliterated, and 
sound and united horn will grow down. When there is 
sufficient horn above the crack, a horizontal line should be 
drawn with a firing iron between the sound horn and the 
crack. The connection between the sound part and the 
crack will thus be prevented, and the new hom will gradu- 
ally and safely descend, but the horse should not be used 
until sufficient horn has grown down fairly to isolate the 
crack. When the horn is divided at the coronet, it will be 
five or six months before it will grow fairly down, and not 
before that, should the animal be used even for ordinary 
work. When, however, the horn is grown an inch fi'om the 
coronet, the horse may be turned out — the foot being welli 
defended by the pitch plaster, and that renewed as often as 
it becomes loose — a bar-shoe being worn, chambered so as 
not to press upon the hoof immediately under the cracky 
and that shoe being taken off, the sole pared out, and any 
bulbous projection of new horn being removed once in every 
three weeks. 

To remedy the undue brittleness of the hoof, there is no 



420 THE HOME MECHANIC, 

better application than that recommended in page 48, the 
sole being covered at the same time with the common cow 
dung or felt stopping. 



TREAD AND OVER-REACH. 

Under these terms are comprised bruises and wounds of 
the coronet, inflicted by the other feet. 

A tread is said to have taken place when the inside of 
the coronet of one hind foot is struck by the calkin of the 
shoe of the other, and a bruised or contused wound is in- 
flicted. 

A tread, or wound of the coronet, must never be ne- 
glected, lest gravel should insinuate itself into the wound, 
and form deep ulcerations, called sinuses or pipes, and 
which constitute quittor. Although some mildly stimula- 
ting caustic may be occasionally required, the caustic, too 
frequently used by farriers, should be carefully avoided, 
not only lest quittor should be formed, but lest the coro- 
nary ligament should be so injured as to be afterward inca- 
pable of secreting perfect horn. When properly treated, a 
tread is seldom productive of much injury. If the dirt is 
well washed out of it, and a pledget of tow, dipped in 
Friar's balsam*, bound over the wound, it will, in the ma- 
jority of cases, speedily heal. Should the bruise be exten- 
sive, or the wound deep, a poultice may be applied for one 
or two days, and then the Friar's balsam, or digestive oint- 
ment.t Sometimes a soft tumor will form on the part, which 
will be quickly brought to suppuration by a poultice ; and 
when the matter has run out, the ulcer will heal by the 
application of the Friar's balsam, or a weak solution of blue 
vitriol. 

An over-reach is a tread upon the heel of the coronet of 
the fore foot by the shoe of the corresponding hind foot, 
and either inflicted by the toe, or by the inner edge of the 



■^Compound tincture ol benzoin. 

tDigestive ointment is composed ot two ounces of Venice turpentine ; yolks ot two 
effgis ; one-halt ounce ot oil ot St. Johnswort. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 421 

inside of the shoe. The preventive treatment is the bevel- 
ling, or rounding oflF, of the inside edge or rim of the hind 
shoes. The cm-e is, the cutting away of the loose parts, 
the application of Friar's balsam, and protection from the 
dirt. 

Some horses, particularly young ones, overreach so as to 
strike the toes of the hind shoes against the fore ones, which 
is termed clinking. Keeping up the head of the horse does 
something to prevent this ; but the smith may do more by 
shortening the toe of the hind shoes, and having the web 
broad. When they are too long, they are apt to be torn 
off 5 when too narrow, the hind foot may bruise the sole of 
the fore one, or may be locked fast between the branches of 
the fore shoe. 



FALSE QUARTER. 

If the coronary ligament, hj which the horn of the crust 
is secreted, is divided by some cut or bruise, or eaten 
through by any caustic, there will occasionally be a divis- 
ion in the horn as it grows down, either in the form of a 
permanent sand-crack, or one portion of the horn overlap- 
ping the other. It occasionally follows neglected sand- 
crack, or it may be the consequence of quittor. This is 
exteriorly an evident fissure in the horn, and extending fi*om 
the coronet to the sole, but not always penetrating to the 
laminae. It is a very serious defect, and exceedingly difB- 
cult to remedy, for occasionally, if the horse is over- 
weighted or hurried on his journey, the fissure wDl open 
and bleed, and very serious inconvenience and lameness 
may ensae. Grit and dirt may insinuate itself into the 
aperture, and penetrate to the sensible laminae. Inflammation 
will almost of necessity be produced, and much mischief 
will be effected. While the energies of the animal are not 
severely taxed, he may not experience much inconvenience 
or pain ; but the slightest exertion will cause the fissure to 
expand, and painful lameness to follow. 

The coronary ligament must be restored to its perfect 



422 I'HE HOME MECHANIC. 

state, or at least to the discharge of its perfect function. 
Much danger would attend the application of the caustic in 
order to effect this. A blister is rarely sufficiently active ; 
but the application, not too severely, of a heated flat or 
rounded iron to the coronet at the injured part, affords the 
best chance of success — the edges of the horn on either 
side of the crack being thinned, the hoof supported, and the 
separated parts held together by a firm encasement of pitch, 
as described when speaking of the treatment of sand-crack. 
The coronet must be examined at least once in every fort- 
night, in order to ascertain whether the desired union has 
taken place ; and, as a palliative during the treatment of 
the case, or if the treatment should be unsuccessful, a bar- 
shoe may be used, and care taken that there be no bearing 
at or immediately under the separation of the horn. This 
will be best effected when the crust is thick and the quar- 
ters strong, by paring off a little of the bottom of the crust 
at the part, so that it will not touch the shoe j but if the 
foot is weak, an indentation or hollow should be made in 
the shoe Strain or concussion on the immediate part will 
thus be avoided, and, in sudden or violent exertion, the 
crack will not be so likely to extend upward to the coronet, 
when the whole and sound horn has begun to be formed 
there. 



QUITTOR. 



This has been described as being the result of neglected 
or bad tread or over-reach ; but it may be the consequence 
of any wound in the foot, and in any part of the foot. In 
the natural process of ulceration, matter is thrown out 
from the wound. It precedes the actual healing of the 
part. The matter which is secreted in wounds of the foot 
is usually pent up there, and, increasing in quantity, and 
urging its way in every direction, it forces the little fleshy 
plates of the coffin-bone from the horny ones of the crust, 
or the horny sole from the fleshy sole, or even eats deeply 
into the internal parts of the foot. These pipes or sinuses 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 423 

run in every direction, and constitute the essence of the 
quittor. 

If it arises from a wound in the bottom of the foot, the 
aperture may speedily close up, and the matter which con- 
tinues to be secreted is confined within, separating the 
homy from the fleshy sole, until it forces its way upward 
and appears at the coronet (usually at the quarter), and 
there slowly oozes out. The opening and the quantity of 
matter discharged are so small, that although over a great 
part of the quarter and the sole the horn may have sepa- 
rated from the coflBn-bone, and the matter may have pene- 
trated even under the cartilages and ligaments, and into 
the coffin-joint, but little mischief would be suspected by 
an inexperienced person. The pressure of the matter 
wherever it has gone, has formed ulcerations that are in- 
disposed to heal, and that require the application of strong 
and painful stimulants to induce them to heal ; and, worse 
than this, the horn, once separated from the sensible parts 
beneath, will never again unite with them. Quittor may 
occur in both the fore and the hind feet. 

It may be necessary to remove much of the homy sole, 
which will be speedily reproduced when the fleshy surface 
beneath can be brought to a healthy condition ; but if much 
of the horn at the quarters must be taken away, five or 
six months may probably elapse before it will be sufficiently 
grown down again to render the horse useful. 

Measures of considerable severity are indispensable. 
The application of some caustic will alone produce a 
healthy action on the ulcerated surfaces ; but on the ground 
of interest and of humanity, we protest against that brutal 
practice, or at least the extent to which it is carried, and 
is pursued by many ignorant smiths, of coring out, or deeply 
destroying the healthy as well as the diseased parts — and 
parts which no process will again restore. When any por- 
tion of the bone can be felt by the probe, the chances of 
success are diminished, and the owner and the operator 
should pause. When the joints are exposed, the case is 
hopeless, although, in a great many instances, the bones 
and the joints are exposed by the remedy and not by the 
disease. One hint may not be necessary to the practi- 



424 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

tioner, but it may guide the determination and hopes of the 
owner ; if, when a probe is introduced into the fistulous on 
the coronet — the direction of the sinuses or pipes is back- 
ward — there is much probability that a perfect cure may be 
effected 5 but if the direction of the sinuses is forward, the 
cure is at best doubtful. In the first instance, there is 
neither bone nor joint to be injured ; in the other, the more 
important parts of the foot are in danger, and the principal 
action and concussion are found. 

Neglected bruises of the sole sometimes lay the founda- 
tion for quittor. When the foot is flat, it is very liable to 
be bruised if the horse is ridden fast over a rough and stony 
road ; or a small stone, insinuating itself between the shoe 
and the sole, or confined by the curvature of the shoe, will 
frequently lame the horse. The heat and tenderness of the 
part, the occasional redness of the horn, and the absence of 
puncture, will clearly mark the bruise. The sole must 
ihen be thinned, and particularly over the bruised part, 
and, in neglected cases, it must be pared even to the quick, 
in order to ascertain whether the inflammation has run on 
to suppuration. Bleeding at the toe will be clearly indi- 
cated ; and poultices, and such other means as have either 
been described under '' Inflammation of the Feet," or will 
be pointed out under the next head. The principal causes 
of bruises of the foot are leaving the sole too much exposed 
by means of a narrow-webbed shoe, or the smith paring out 
the sole too closely, or the pressure of the shoe on the sole, 
or the introduction of gravel or stone between the shoe and 
the sole. 

The author subjoins the mode of cure in this disease as 
it has been practised by two veterinary surgeons. They 
are both excellent, and, so far as can well be the case, sat- 
isfactory. 

Mr. Percival says : ^' The ordinary mode of cure con- 
sists in the introduction of caustic into the sinus ; and so 
long as the cartilage preserves its integrity — by which I 
mean, is free from decay — this is perhaps the most prompt 
and effectual mode of proceeding. The farrier's practice is 
to mix about half a drachm of corrosive sublimate in pow- 
der with twice or thrice the quantity of flour, and make 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 425 

them into a paste with water. This he takes up by little 
at a time with the point of his probe, and works it about 
into the sinus until the paste appears rising in the orifice 
above. After this is done, he commonly has the horse 
walked about for an hour or two, or even sent to slow work 
again, which produces a still more efi'ectual solution of the 
caustic, at the same time that it tends greatly to its uni- 
form and thorough diffusion into every recess and winding 
of the sinus. The consequence of this sharp caustic dress- 
ing is a general slough from the sinus. Every part of its 
interior surface is destroyed, and the dead particles become 
agglutinated, and cast off along with the discliarges in the 
form of a dark, firm curdled mass, which the farrier calls 
the core ; and so it commonly proves, for granulations fol- 
low close behind it, and fill up the sinus." 

The other mode of treatment is that of Mr. Newport, a 
surgeon of long standing : '' After the shoe has been re- 
moved, thin the sole until it will yield to the pressure of 
the thumb ; then cut the under parts of the wall in an 
oblique direction from the heel to the anterior part, imme- 
diately under the seat of complaint, and only as far as it 
extends, and rasp the side of the wall thin enough to give 
way to the pressure of the over-distended parts, and put 
on a bar-shoe rather elevated from the frog. Ascertain 
with a probe the direction of the sinuses, and introduce into 
them a saturated solution of sulphate of zinc, by means of 
a small syringe. Place over this dressing the common 
poultice, or the turpentine ointment, and renew the appli- 
cation every twenty -four hours. I have frequently found 
three or four such applications complete a cure. I should 
recommend that when the probe is introduced, in order to 
ascertain the progress of cure, that it be gently and care- 
fully used, otherwise it may break down the new-formed 
lymph. I have found the solution very valuable where the 
synovial fluid (joint-oil) has escaped, but not to be if the 
Inflammation of the parts is great. 



^^Q THE HOME MECHANIC. 

oft) if 7<! (;ji ;^' ):!;.! ■ .; 

iiro(fr> fpifcibK^^dR'^OUND IN THE SOLE OR CRUST. 

't'his is the most frequent cause of quittor. It is evi- 
dent that the sole is vei-y liable to be wounded by nails, 
pieces of glass, or even shai-p flints. Every part of the 
foot is subject to injuries of this description, The usual 
place at which these wounds are found, is in the hollow be- 
tween the bars and the frog, or in the frog itself. In the 
fore-feet the injury will be generally recognized on the in- 
ner quarter, and on the hind-feet near the toe. In fact, 
these are the thinnest parts of the fore and hind-feet. 
Much more frequently the laminae are wounded by the 
nail in shoeing -, or if the nail does not penetrate through 
the internal surface of the crust, it is driven so close to it 
that it presses upon the fleshy parts beneath, and causes 
irritation and inflammation, and at length ulceration. When 
a horse becomes suddenly lame after the legs have been 
carefully examined, and no cause of lameness appears in 
them, the shoe should be taken off. In many cases the 
offending substance will be immediately detected, or the 
additional heat felt in some part of the foot will point out 
the seat of injury ,• or, if the crust is rapped with the ham- 
mer all round, the flinching of the horse will discover it ; 
or pressure with the pincers will render it evident. 

When the slioe is removed for this examination, the 
smith should never be permitted to wrench it off, but each 
nail should be drawn separately, and examined as it is 
drawn, when some moisture appearing upon it will not unfre- 
quently reveal th } spot at which matter has been thrown out. 

Sudden lameness occurring within two or three days 
after the horse has been shod, will lead to the suspicion that 
the smith bas been in fault; yet no one who considers the 
thinness of the crust, and "che difficulty of shoeing many 
feet, will blame him for sometimes pricking the animal. 
His fault will consist in concealing or denying that of 
which he will almost always be aware at the time of shoe- 
ing, from the flinching of the horse, or the dead sound, or 
the peculiar resistance that may be noticed in the driving 
of thenail. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 427 

When the seat of mischief is ascertained, the sole should 
be thinned round it, and at the nail-hole or the puncture, it 
should be pared to the quick. The* escape of some matter 
will now probably tell the nature of the injury, and remove 
its consequences. If it be puncture of the sole effected by 
some nail, or any similar body, picked up on the road^ all 
that will be necessary is to enlarge the opening a little, 
and then to place on it a fledget of tow dipped in Friar's 
balsam, and over that a little common stopping. If there 
is much heat and lameness, a poultice should be applied. 

A puncture near the center of the sole is most dangerous, 
from its liability to wound the flexor tendon where it is in- 
serted in the coffin-bone, from which much action is requir- 
ed ; or it may even penetrate the joint between the navicu- 
lar and coffin-bone. 

If pricked by a nail, the treatment above described will 
usually soon effect a cure. It may, however, be prudent 
to keep the foot stopped for a few days. If the accident 
has been neglected, and matter begins to be formed, and to 
be pent up, and to press on the neighboring parts, and the 
horse evidently suffers extreme pain, and is sometimes 
scarcely able to put his foot to the ground, and much mat- 
ter is poured out when the opening is enlarged, farther pre- 
cautions must be adopted. The fact must be recollected 
that the living and dead hora will never unite, and every 
portion of the horny sole that has separated from the fleshy 
sole above must be removed. The separation must be fol- 
lowed as far as it reaches. Much of the success of the 
treatment depends on this. No small strip or edge of sepa- 
rated horn must be suffered to press upon any part of the 
wound. The exposed fleshy sole must then be touched, 
but not too severely, with the butyr (chloride) of antimony, 
some soft and dry tow being spread on the part, the foot 
stopped, and a poultice placed over all if the foot seems to 
require it. On the following day a thin pellicle of horn 
will frequently be found over a part or the whole of the 
wound. This should be, yet very lightly, again touched 
with the caustic ; but if there is an appearance of fungus 
sprouting from the exposed surface, the application of the 
butyr must be more severe, the tow being again placed 



428 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

over it, so as to afford considerable yet uniform pressure. 
Many days do not often elapse before tlie new horn covers 
the whole of the wound. In these extensive openings the 
Friar's balsam will not always be successful, but the cure 
must be effected by the judicious and never too severe use 
of the caustic. Bleeding at the toe and physic will be re- 
sorted to as useful auxiliaries when much inflammation 
arises. 



CORNS. 



In the angle oetween the bars and the quarters the horn 
of the sole has sometimes a red appearance, and is more 
spongy and softer than at any other part. The horse 
flinches when this portion of the horn is pressed upon, and 
occasional or permanent lameness is produced. This dis- 
ease of the foot is termed corns : bearing this resemblance 
to the corn of the human being, that it is produced by pres- 
sure, and is a cause of lameness. When corns are ne- 
glected, so much inflammation is produced in that part of 
the sensible sole, that suppuration follows, and to that 
quittor succeeds, and the matter either undermines the 
horny sole, or is discharged at the coronet. 

The pressure hereby produced manifests itself in various 
ways. When the foot becomes contracted, the part of the 
sole inclosed between the external crust that is wiring in, 
and the bars that are opposing that contraction, is placed 
in a kind of vice, and becomes inflamed ; hence it is rare to 
see a contracted foot without corns. When the shoe is 
suffered to remain on too long, it becomes embedded in the 
heel of the foot ; the external crust grows down on the 
outside of it, and the bearing is thrown on this angular por- 
tion of the sole. No pai't of the sole can bear continued 
pressure, and inflammation and corns are the result. From 
the length of wear, the shoe sometimes becomes loosened 
at the heels, and gravel Insinuates itself between the shoe 
and the crust, and accumulates in this angle, and sometimes 
seriously wounds it. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 429 

The bars are too frequently cut away, and then the heel 
of the shoe must be beveled inward, in order to answer to 
this absurd and injurious shaping of the foot. By this 
slanting direction of the heel of the shoe inward, an unnat- 
ural disposition to contraction is given, and the sole must 
suffer in two ways — in being pressed upon i)y the shoe, and 
squeezed between the outer crust and the external portion 
of the bar. The shoe is often made unnecessarily narrow 
at the heels, by which this angle, seemingly less disposed 
to bear pressure than any other part of the foot, is exposed 
to accidental bruises. If, in the paring out of the foot, tlie 
smith should leave the bars prominent, he too frequently 
neglects to pare away the horn in the angle between the 
bars and the external crust ; or if he cuts away the bars, 
he scarcely touches the horn at this point ; and thus, before 
the horse has been shod a fortnight, the shoe rests on this 
angle, and produces corns. The use of a shoe for the fore- 
feet, thickened at the heels, is, and especially in weak feet, 
a source of corns, from the undue bearing there is on the 
heels, and the concussion to which they are subject. 

Corns are most frequent and serious in horses with thin 
horn and flat soles, and low, weak heel 5. They do not 
often occur in the outside heel. It is of a stronger con- 
struction than the inside one. The method adopted by 
shoeing-smiths to ascertain the existence of corn by the 
pain evinced when they pinch the bar and crust with their 
irons, is very fallacious. If the horn is naturally thin, the 
horse will shrink under no great pressure, although he has 
no corn, and occasionally the bars are so strong as not to 
give way under any pressure. 

The cure of old corns is difficult; for as all the shoeing 
has some tendency to produce pressure here, the habit of 
throwing out this diseased horn is difficult to get rid of 
when once contracted ; recent corns, however, will yield to 
good shoeing. 

The first thing to be done is to well pare out the angle 
between the crust and the bars. Two objects are answered 
by this : the extent of the disease will be ascertained, and 
one cause of it removed. A very small drawing-knife must 
be used for this purpose. The corn must be pared out to 



430 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

the Very bottom, taking care not to wound the sole. It 
may then be discovered whether there is any effusion of 
blood or matter underneath. If this is suspected, an open- 
ing must be made through the horn, the matter evacuated, 
the separated horn taken away, the coarse and extent of 
the sinuses explored, and the treatment recommended for 
quittor adopted. Should there be no collection of fluid, 
the butyr of antimony should be applied over the whole 
extent of the com, after the horn has been thinned as 
closely as possible. The object of this is to stimulate the 
sole to throw out more healthy horn. In bad cases a bar- 
shoe may be put on, so chambered that there shall be no 
pressure on the diseased part. This may be worn for one 
or two shoeings, but not constantly, for there are few frogs 
that would bear the constant pressure of tie bar-shoe 5 and 
the want of pressure on the heel generally occasioned by 
their use, would produce a softened and bulbous state of 
the heels, that would of itself be an inevitable source of 
lameness. 

The cause of corn is a most important subject of inquiry, 
and which a careful- examination ot the foot and the shoe 
will easily discover. The cause being ascertained, the ef- 
fect may, to a great extent, be afterward removed. Turn- 
ing out to grass, after the horn is a little grown, first with 
a bar-shoe, and afterward with the shoe fettered on one 
side, or with tips, will often be serviceable. A horse that 
has once had corns to any considerable extent, should, at 
evei'y shoeing, have the seat of the corn well pared out, 
and the butyr of antimony applied. The seated shoe 
should be used, with a web sufficiently thick to cover the 
place of the com, and extending as far back as it can be 
made to do without injury to the frog. 

Low, weak heels should be rarely touched with the 
knife, or anything more be done to them than lightly to 
rasp them, in order to give them a level surface. Where 
corns exist of any consequence, they are a disgrace to the 
smith, the groom, and to the owner. 



THE HOME MEOHANia 431 



THRUSH. 

This IS a discharge of offensive matter from the cleft of 
the frog. It is inflammatiou of the lower surface of the 
seusible frog, and during which pus is secreted together 
with or instead of horn. When the frog is in its sound 
state, the cleft sinks but a little way into it ; but when it 
becomes contracted or otherwise diseased, it extends in 
length, and penetrates even to the sensible horn within, 
and through this unnaturally deepened fissure the thrushy 
discharge proceeds. A very full and fleshy state of the 
body may be a predisposing cause of thrush, but the imme- 
diate and grand cause is moisture. This should never be 
forgotten, for it will lead a great way toward the proper 
treatment of the disease. If the feet are habitually covered 
with any moist application — his standing so much on his 
own dung is a fair example — thrush will inevitably appear. 
It is caused by anything that interferes with the healthy 
structure and action of the frog. We find it in the hinder 
feet oftener and worse than in the fore, because in our sta- 
ble management the hinder feet are too much exposed to 
the pernicious effects of the dung and the urine, moistening, 
or, as it were, macerating, and at the same time irritating 
them. 

In the fore-feet, thrushes are usually connected with 
contraction. We have stated that they are both the cause 
and the effect of contraction. The pressure on the frog 
from the wiring in of the heels will produce pain and in- 
fiammation; and the inflammation, by the increased heat 
and suspended function of the part, will dispose to con- 
traction. Horses of all ages, and in almost all situations, 
are subject to thrush. The unshod colt is frequently thus 
diseased. 

Thrushes are not always accompanied by lameness. In 
a great many cases the appearance of the foot is scarcely 
or not at all altered, and the disease can only be detected 
by close examination, or the peculiar smell of the discharge. 
The frog may not appear to be rendered in the slightest 
degree tender by it, and therefore the horse may not be 



432 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

considered by many as unsound. Every disease, however, 
should be considered as legal unsoundness, and especially 
a disease which, although not attended with present detri- 
ment, must not be neglected, for it will eventually injure 
and lame the horse. 

The progress of a neglected thrush, although sometimes 
slow, is sure. The frog begins to contract in size — it be- 
comes rough, ragged, brittle, tender — ^the discharge is more 
copious and more offensive — the horn gradually disappears 
— a mass of hardened mucus usurps its place — this easily 
peels off, and the sensible frog* remains exposed — the horse 
cannot bear it to be touched — fungous granulations spring 
from it — they spread around — the sole becomes under-run, 
and canker steals over the greater part of the foot. 

If a young colt, fat and full of blood, has a bad thrush, 
with much discharge, it will be prudent to accompany the 
attempt at cure by a dose of physic, or a course of diuret- 
ics. A few diuretics may not be injurious when we are en- 
deavoring to dry up thrush in older horses. 

There are many recipes to stop a running thrush. Al- 
most every application of an astringent, but not of tLe too 
caustic nature, will have the effect. The common ^Egypti- 
acura (vinegar boiled with honey and verdigris) is a good 
liniment ; but the most effectual and the safest — drying up 
the discharge speedily, but not suddenly — is a paste com- 
posed of blue vitriol, tar and lard, in proportions according 
to the virulence of the canker. A pledget of tow, covered 
with it, should be introduced as deeply as possible, yet 
without force, into the cleft of the frog every night, and re- 
moved in the morning before the horse goes to work. At- 
tention should at the same time, as in other diseases of the 
foot, be paid to the apparent cause of the complaint, and 
that cause should be carefully obviated or removed. Be- 
fore the application of the paste, the frog should be exam- 
ined, and every loose part of the horn or hardened discharge 
removed ; and if much of the frog is then exposed, a larger 
and wider piece of tow, covered with the paste, may be 
placed over it, in addition to the pledget introduced into the 
cleft of the frog. It will be necessary to preserve the frog 
moist while th« cure is in progress, and this maj' be done 



THE HOME MEOHANIO. 433 

by filling the feet with tow, covered by common stopping, 
or using the felt pad, likewise covered with it. Turning 
out would be prejudicial rather than of benefit to thrushy 
feet, except the dressing is continued, and the feet defended 
from moisture. 



CANKER 



Is a separation of the horn from the sensible part of the 
foot, and the sprouting of the fungous matter (proud flesh) 
instead of it, occupying a portion or even the whole of the 
sole and frog. It is the occasional consequence of bruise, 
puncture, com, quittor and thrush, and is exceedingly diflB- 
cult to cure. It is more frequently the consequence of ne- 
glected thrush than of any other disease of the foot, or 
rather it is thrush involving the frog, the bars and the sole, 
and making the foot in one mass of rank putrefaction. 

It is often found in, and is almost peculiar to, the heavy 
breed of cart-horses, and partly resulting from constitu- 
tional predisposition. Horses with white legs and thick 
skins, and much hair upon their legs — ^the very character 
of many dray-horses — are subject to canker, especially if 
they have an attack of grease, or their heels are habitually 
thick and greasyo The disposition to canker is certainly 
hereditary. 

Although canker is a disease most difficult to remove, it 
is easily prevented. Attention to the punctures to which 
these heavy horses, with their clubbed feet and brittle hoofs, 
are more than any others subject in shoeing, and to the 
bruises and treads on the coronet, to which, from their 
awkwardness and weight, they are so liable, and the greasy 
heels which a very slight degree of negligence will produce 
in them, and the stopping of the thrushes, which are so apt 
in them to run on to the separation of the horn from the 
sensible frog, will most materially lessen the number of 
cankered feet. 

The cure of canker is the business of the veterinary sur- 
geon, and a most painful and tedious business it is. The 



434 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

« 

pririciples on which he proceeds are, first of all, to remove 
the extraneous fungous growth ; and for this purpose he 
will need the aid of the knife and the caustic, or the cautery, 
for he should cut away every portion of horn which is in 
the slightest degree separated from the sensible parts be- 
neath. He will have to discourage the growth of fresh 
fungus, and to bring the foot into that state in which it will 
again secrete healthy horn. A slight and daily application 
of the chloride of antimony, and that not where the new 
horn is forming, but on the surface which continues to be 
diseased, and accompanied by as firm but equal pressure as 
can be made — the careful avoidance of the slightest de- 
gree of moisture — the horse being exercised or worked in 
the mill, or wherever the foot will not be exposed to wet, 
and that exercise adopted as early as possible, and even 
fi'om the beginning, if the malady is confined to the sole 
and frog — these means will succeed, if the disease is capa- 
ble of cure. It is proper to resort to neurotomy, if the 
means of cure are persisted in. Medicine is not of much 
avail in the cure of canker, but as it sometimes alternates 
with other diseases, a course of alternatives or diuretics 
may be administered, when the cure is nearly completed. 



OSSIFICATION OF THE CAETILAGES. 

The cartilages embedded in the heels of the feet from 
bruises, sprains, etc., are subject to inflammation, and the 
result of that inflammation is that the cartilages are ab- 
sorbed, and bone substituted in their stead. This is com- 
mon in heavy draught-horses, particularly as they are use^ 
on paved streets. 

No evident inflammation of the foot, or great, or perhaps 
even perceptible lameness, accompanies this change 5 a 
mere slight degree of stiffness may have been observed, 
which, in a horse of more rapid pace, would have been 
lameness. Even when the change is completed, there is 
not in many cases anything more than a slight increase of 
stiff'ness, little or not at all interfering with the usefulness 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 435 

of the horse. When this altered structure appears in the 
lighter horse, the lameness is more decided, and means 
should be taken to arrest the progress of the change. 
These are blisters or firing ; but, after the parts have be- 
come bony, no operation will restore the cartilage. Some 
benefit, however, will be derived from the use of leather 
soles. Advantage has resulted from bar shoes in conjunc- 
tion with leather. 

Connected with ringbone the lameness may be very great. 



WEAKNESS OF THE FOOT. 

This is more accurately a bad formation than a disease ; 
often, indeed, the result of disease, but in many instances 
the natural construction of the foot. The term weak foot 
is familiar to every horseman, and the consequence is too 
severely felt by all who have to do with horses. In the 
slanting of the crust from the coronet to the toe, a less angle 
is almost invariably formed, amounting probably to not 
more than forty instead of forty-five degrees ; and, after the 
horse has been worked for one or two years the line is not 
straight, but a little indented or hollow, midway between 
the coronet and the toe. This has been described as the 
accompaniment of pumiced feet, but it is often seen in weak 
feet, that, although they might become pumiced by severity 
of work, do not otherwise have the sole convex. The crust 
is not only less oblique than it ought to be, but it has not 
the smooth even appearance of the good foot. The surface 
is sometimes irregularly roughened, but it is much oftener 
roughened in circles or rings. The form of the crust like- 
wise presents too much the appearance of a cone ; the bot- 
tom of the foot is unnaturally wide in proportion to the 
coronet ; and the whole of the foot is generally but not 
always larger than it should be. 

When the foot is lifted, it will often present a round and 
circular appearance, with a fullness of frog, and would mis- 
lead the inexperienced, and indeed be considered as almost 
the perfection of structure ; but, being examined more 



436 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

closely, many glaring defects will be seen. TK« sole is flat, 
and the smith iinds that it will bear little or no paring. 
The bars are small in size. They are not cut away by the 
smith, but they can be scarcely said to have any existence. 
The heels are low, so low that the very coronet seems almost 
to touch the ground ; and the crust, if examined, appears 
scarcely thick enough to hold the nails. 

Horses with these feet can never stand much work. They 
will be subject to corns, to bruises of the sole, to convexity 
of the sole, to punctures in nailing, to breaking away of the 
crust, to inflammation of the foot, and to sprain and injury 
of the pastern and the fetlock and the flexor tendon. 

These feet admit of little improvement. Shoeing as sel- 
dom as may be, and with a light yet wide concave web ; 
little or no paring at the time of shoeing, and as little vio- 
lent work as possible, and especially on rough roads, may 
protract for a long period the evil day, but he who buys a 
horse with these feet will sooner or later have cause to re- 
pent his bargain. 



Note. — Mode of Repairing Horses' Feet. — Horses which stand nearly or quite 
the year round, sometimes from year to year in the stable, are apt to have the feet get 
into a dry and fevered condition; the hoof becomes dry, hard, and often contracted, 
frequently also very brittle, and the horse sometimes sutfers lameness in conse- 
quence. Now one of the most effective means of remedj^ing these diflBculties, where 
the horse cannot be spared to be turned into pasture for quite a season, is in the 
spring, when the ground is breaking up, and the winter's frost disappearing, and 
no lasting freeze is to be apprehended, to haA'e all of the shoes taken off and drive 
the horse daily about business, as usual, without them. The roads remain muddv 
and soft, usuallJ^ so that a horse may be thus driven daily for a peiiod of three or 
four weeks, and a great improvement is effected in the feet iu every respect. I have 
had a horse whose 'eet were fevered, hoof contracted, hard and brittle, thoroughly 
renovated or cured by a season of such usage. When the ground becomes hard, 
and the feet become too tender to drive longer, then have the shoes put on. This 
treatment of course would not be applicable on pavements, but throughout the 
country in all the northern states, it is. Although daily dri\aug a horse, in the prac- 
tice of medicine, of late years, I have never had shoes put on the hind feet except in 
the frozen part of the year, and the expense of shoeing is not onlj"^ saved, but I find 
the horse equally as useful, and the feet all the better for the practice. — MEDICa, in 
Moore's Rural New Yorkor. 



SOAP MAKING. 

WASHING FLUIDS, ETC. 



WHAT SOAP IS AND HOW TO TEST IT. 

Family soaps are made of grease and alkali. They are 
^^cold made "or '^boiled." ''Cold made" soaps are 
compounds of grease and alkali^ produced wholly by 
mechanical agencies. The elements are poured into 
vats and stirred until the grease is apparently, but, in 
point of fact, never saponified. To accomplish this par- 
tial saponification, an excess of alkali is necessary. 
When, therefore, this soap is dissolved in the wash-tub, 
this excess of alkali not only dissolves the dirt on the 
clothes, and make^ washing easier, but it also attacks 
the fabric and ''rots" it. 

Boiled soaps are also made of grease and alkali. These 
are placed into large vats in proper proportions, and are 
thoroughly boiled. Under the influence of heat, a much 
less quantity of alkali is required to produce perfect 
saponification. After this saponification has taken 
place, the compound is allowed to cool in the vat. The 
pure soap rises to the top, and all the impurities settle 
to the bottom. The value of boiled soaps of course de- 
pends greatly on the quality of the materials used. 
This accounts for the difference in price and quality. 
The purest materials, such as clean tallow or pure oils, 
thoroughly saponified, yield the most valuable soaps, 
costing more per pound, but they are cheaper in the end. 
A good soap is a perfectly neutral compound, and will 
in no case injure the most delicate fabrics. The simplest 

437 



438 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

method of testing soap is by tasting. If it is sharp and 
biting on the tongue, there is an excess of alkali ; but if 
it leaves no unpleasant sensation on the tongue, there is 
not the least danger that it will rot or otherwise injure 
clothes in washing. 



ADULTERATION OF SOAP. 

Soap, in the popular sense, is a combination of fat 
with an alkaline lye, that is, the solution of caustic soda 
or potash in certain proportions, which, when properly 
manipulated, produces either a soft or a hard soap, both 
being employed in domestic economy. The fat is de- 
composed by proper contact with the alkali, which has 
the property of removing the glycerine combined in the 
fat, and to take its place in the remaining constituents 
of the fatty matter, while the glycerine so displaced is 
retained in the watery liquid remaining after the sepa- 
ration of the soap from the underlying liquid. Eats are 
always a combination of glycerine with fatty acids, and 
when an alkali is brought in proper contact with the 
fatty matter, the glycerine of the fair is disengaged, and 
the alkaline lye then combines with the fatty acids, and 
forms a saponaceous salt commonly known as soap ; as, 
for example : a stearate of soda, when tallow is made to 
combine with caustic soda. In other words, tallow is 
changed into stearic acid, having lost its glycerine, and 
uniting with the soda, is transformed into a stearate of 
soda. Stearic acid is not the only constituent of fat. 
It is there combined with other similar acids, as the 
margaric and oleic acids ; but in tallow the stearic is the 
most abundant, while in lard, margaric acid predom- 
inates, and oleic acid in the fatty oil of commerce. 

Potash produces, in its caustic state, the same kind of 
alteration as caustic soda. When potash is used, the 
fatty acids combine with it, and form stearates, marga- 
rates or oleates of potash. One peculiarity, however, 
of potash, is that its use produces soaps less consistent or 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 439 

hard in their nature than soda ; but in order to diminish 
the hardness of some soda soap, some potash is used in 
their manufacture and conversely soda, in some form, 
is also used to modify the soft tendency of pure potash 
soaps, when it is desirable to have them in condition to 
be transformed into bar soap. 

Potash is mostly obtained from the ashes of hard 
woods, which, being leached, yield a crude potash by 
evaporation of the water in iron boilers. It is also ob- 
tained from felspar, a mineral found in various localities, 
containing it in combination with alkaline earths or 
salts, from which it is separated by chemical processes 
for the purposes of commerce and manufactures. 

Soda is obtained from the ashes of various kinds of 
sea-weeds, which, being burned into ashes, are leached 
as the ashes of hard wood, and the resulting product is 
soda ash or barilla, an impure kind of soda which, how- 
ever, is further purified, and rendered caustic for the 
purposes of soap-making. This has been, till a com- 
paratively recent period, the chief source of supply of 
the soda of commerce. But with increased wants bounti- 
ful Providence has provided other sources of supply to 
mankind. In common salt, a compound of soda with 
chlorine, is found an illimitable supply. By a series of 
chemical processes, chlorine is set free, and soda, in the 
form of sal-soda, and also in the state of caustic soda, 
is obtained, both in great use in many arts and manu- 
factures. 

Again another source of supply has been recently dis- 
covered in a mineral substance named kryolite, found 
abundantly in Greenland. Soda is combined in it with 
an oxide of aluminum, a pure clay, which being sepa- 
rated from their combination by chemical art, enables 
us to apply them to their respective uses. 



HOW SOAP IS MADE IN GENERAL. 

Animal fat, such as tallow, is the substance most at 
hand of all other fatty matters for soap-making, al- 



440 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

thongh vegetable oils, such as palm, cocoa-nut, castor, 
sunflower, olive and other oils, and also rosin, are used 
in soap-making occasionally, but tallow being more 
easily obtainable, and generally at a lower cost than 
most of the oils above enumerated, is most extensively 
employed in the manufacture of domestic soap. For this 
purpose, after being freed of skin by boiling, straining 
and remelting, it is heated to the temperature of boil- 
ing water, and mixed on the fire with a hot solution of 
either soda, potash, or both, in water called the lye ; the 
whole is gradually transferred into an iron pot, larger 
by at least one-third than the whole mixture, about one 
quart of the melted fat being first ladled into it, then 
as much or more of the hot lye, the mixture constantly 
stirred on the fire till a sort of creamy matter is formed, 
the ladling kept on alternately till all the lye and fat 
are mixed together ; the stirring to be kept up on a 
moderate fire till the mixture boils, and is allowed to 
boil some ten or fifteen minutes, according to the strength 
of the lye employed ; it is then transferred from the 
boiler into a form, a tight box, in which muslin has 
been placed overhanging the box, so that the soap may 
be afterward more easily drawn out of it for the purpose 
of drying it, or else it may be poured in a common wash- 
tub, previously soaked in water to prevent adhesion to 
the tub, and there allowed to harden for a few days, 
from whence it is transferred on boards, or upon a table 
to dry and be cut in bars for use, by means of an 
annealed wire. 



SOAP FROM HOME-MADE CAUSTIC SODA. 

It sometimes happens that caustic soda is not within 
reach, and yet sal-soda is to be had. To transform this 
material into a suitable lye for soap-making, this is a 
convenient and suitable process : Dissolve sal-soda, say 
three pounds, in two gallons of warm water. Slack in a 
firkin three pounds of good quicklime * ; add to it the 

* Quicklime added to common soda (the carbonate) makes 
caustic soda. 



THE HOME MECHAITIO. 441 

soda solntion ; stir the whole thoroughly with a stick, 
and add two gallons of boiling water ; stir again, and 
let it settle. Pour off the clear liquor in a clean iron 
boiler placed on the fire, and stir into it six pounds of 
clarified grease, and two ounces of powdered borax. Let 
it boil slowly till it gets thick and ropy (about ten min- 
utes boiling), and pour it into a tub or tight box, as 
stated above. Soap thus made is an excellent hard soap 
for family use ; after drying a month or so in a dry-room, 
and cut into bars, it is fit for use. 



COUNTRY SOAP-MAKING, OR SOAP FROM THE LYE 
OF LEACHED ASHES. 

In most parts of this country it is as convenient, and 
much cheaper, to make soap from the lye of leached ashes 
than from a soda lye. 

To leach the ashes properly for this purpose, from two 
to five per cent, of lime should be added, to give proper 
causticity to the potash in solution which the lye con- 
tains. The ordinary process is to have a receptacle 
made of boards and lined with straw, shaped thus, the 
lye running through at the bottom. Upon the straw, 
fresh wood ashes mixed with a little lime, is placed, 
and water poured thereon and allowed to filter through 
and trickle out from the point into a proper vessel. 
The lye will not be of uniform strength. Hot water 
poured upon the ashes makes a stronger lye than cold ; 
in other words, it extracts more potash from the ashes. 
To get the lye to a uniform strength, and one proper 
for soap-making, boil it until a sound potato will float 
upon its surface. This is the farm wife's specific gravity 
test, and it is as accurate as any sold by the opticians. 
Then, into a kettle two-thirds full of lye, in with your 
melted fat, by ladlefuls at a time, and stir until it is 
creamy ; now begin to add the salt by small handfuls, 
stirring carefully and rapidly until a ring made of the 



442 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

soapy matter on the stirring stick, remains visible. 
Then allow the fire to go out, and the soap to harden. 
It usually gathers on the top of the spent lye, from 
which it may be lifted when hard, or the lye can be 
poured off by tipping the kettle. Soft soap is made in 
the same way without the salt. 

A correspondent of the American Agriculturist gives 
the following method of making soap for family use in 
the country : 

I start the lye to boiling, and then while boiling, if 
the lye is not strong enough to eat the feather off a quill, 
boil it down until it is. When it will just eat the feather, 
let the kettle be a little more than one-third full of lye, 
and put in grease, skins of the hogs, bacon rinds, meat 
fryings, and the like, until the kettle is about two-thirds 
full. The kettle must not be full, for with the least bit 
too much fire, over the soap goes. It is better to put 
in a little less than the necessary amount of grease. Lye 
and grease combine in certain proportions, but pass the 
limit, and no amount of boiling will take up an excess 
of grease. It will remain on top, hot or cold, and will 
be very troublesome ; whereas a little too much lye will 
sink to the bottom when the soap comes. If the pro- 
portions are good, a little fire only is required to keep 
it boiling, and in a few hours it is done. Then take a 
bucket of weak lye, and let it boil up with the soap once. 
This will not disturb the already made soap, but will 
wash the dirt out that was in the grease, and with it 
settle to the bottom. When the soap is cold it can be 
cut out in cakes. Exposure to the air will soften it 
down until it is of about the consistence of mush, and a 
little darker, growing fairer and fairer. Some, instead 
of putting in lye to wash the dirt out of the soap, put 
in salt and water. The soap thus made is whiter, but 
is apt to be too stiff to use easily in the wash-tub. It 
makes excellent ball soap for washing dirty hands. I 
take some weaker lye and the clean part of that which 
is left in the bottom of the soap kettles, and enough to 
half fill one of the kettles or more, setting it in some 
convenient place outdoors. I put a stick of wood on 



THE HOME MECHAKIC. 443 

the north side of the top of the kettle, lay on some 
boards, making a roof which is easily managed to shed 
rain, and lay another stick on top to keep the roof in 
place. By lifting one of the boards a little, I can put in 
from time to time whatever soap-fat is gathered in the 
family through the summer. Whenever the sun shines, 
I remove the cover and stir the lye. I facilitate the 
business a little in this way, and I have by fall a half 
kettle of decent soap, and no trouble with soap-fat in 
hot weather. 



WASHING FLUIDS. 

This preparation answers very well for family wash- 
ing, and saves soap considerably, which last is needful 
merely upon the most soiled portions, such as wrist- 
bands, collars, etc. 

Sal-soda, three pounds. 

Best unslacked lime, three quarters of a pound. 

Hot water, four gallons. 

Slack the lime in sufficient boiling water ; add to it 
the sal-soda, previously dissolved in the four gallons of 
hot water ; stir the whole thoroughly, and allow it to 
rest and settle ; pour off the clear liquid ; bottle it in 
clean bottles, and cork tight for use. To two pails of 
water add one pint of washing fluid, and boil the clothes 
in it (it is better to boil the water before adding the 
fluid). 

This preparation in the proportions given, does not 
injure the linen, and diminishes the amount of soap and 
rubbing considerably. Another excellent one is as fol- 
lows : 

Take two pounds of the best brown soap ; cut it up 
and put it in a clean pot, adding one quart of clean soft 
water. Set over the fire, and melt thoroughly, stirring 
it up from the bottom occasionally. Then take from 
the fire, and stir in one tablespoonful real white wine 
vinegar ; two large tablespoonf uls of hartshorn, and seven 



444 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

large tablespoonfuls of spirit of turpentine. Having 
stirred the ingredients well together, put the mixture 
immediately into a stone jar ; cover without delay, lest 
the hartshorn evaporate. Keep it always closely covered. 
When going to wash, nearly fill a six or eight gallon tub 
with soft water, as hot as you can bear your hand in, 
and stir in two large tablespoonf als of the mixture. Put 
in as many white clothes as the water will cover ; let 
them soak about an hour, moving them about in the 
water occasionally. It will only be necessary to rub 
with the hands such parts as are badly soiled ; the or- 
dinary dirt will soak out. Wring out and rinse well 
through two cold waters. 

Next put into the wash kettle sufficient water to boil 
the clothes (it must be cold at first), and add to it two 
tablespoonfuls of the washing mixture. Put in the 
clothes after the mixture is well stirred, and boil them 
half an hour, not more. Then take out and throw into 
a tub of cold water ; rinse well in this, and lastly put in- 
to a second tub of rinsing water, slightly blued with the 
indigo bag. The double rinsing is important, and by 
following the above directions the washing mixture will 
save much time and labor, and render the clothes beau- 
tifully white, without injury. 



SOFT SOAP. 

For one barrel take potash, eight pounds ; melted 
and clarified fat, eight pounds. Crack the potash in 
small lumps, and put it into a large iron pot of three or 
four gallons^ capacity, with hot boiling water to nearly 
fill it. Heat the fat in another iron pot quite hot. Put 
three or four gallons of hot water in the barrel, previ- 
ously cleaned and ready for use, and ladle in it alter- 
nately the hot fat and hot lye ; stir the whole briskly for 
a while before more lye and fat are ladled in, and grad- 
ually add enough hot water to fill the barrel ; stir 
again the whole, after each ladle of hot water, till the 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 445 

whole becomes a creamy mass, uniform in its appear- 
ance. Allow it to rest for three months in a temperate 
place or cellar. 



PROCESS FOR PURIFYING SOAP GREASE, AND 
RENDERING IT SUITABLE FOR SOAP-MAKING. 

If the grease is very foul in smell, it should be put in 
a boiler with water, on the fire (about three times as much 
water as of the grease), a small quantity (say ateaspoon- 
ful for five to ten pounds of grease) of permanganate of 
potash added, by stirring, to the whole, and after the 
mixture has cooled a little, it is strained through a cloth, 
and allowed to rest, when the cake of fat is taken out 
and put in a cool place, or in the pot in which it is to be 
remelted for transformation into soap. The purpose of 
the permanganate of potash is to remove the rank odor 
of the grease, which otherwise would contaminate the 
soap also. 



HOW TO PREPARE NEW FAT, AND SEPARATE FROM 
IT THE SKINS IN WHICH IT IS HELD, WHICH 
MAKES IT SO LIABLE TO BECOME RANCID. 

The fresh fat or tallow is cut up in thin slices and 
stirred in a barrel with three to five times as much cold 
water. That is poured off after two or three hours of 
contact and stirring occasionally. The same is twice 
repeated over with new clean cold water, or till the 
water poured out is colorless. The fat is then trans- 
ferred into a clean iron pot or copper kettle heated slowly, 
with one-third of its weight of water. For one hundred 
pounds of fat, put into the water four ounces of alum in 
fine powder, and eight ounces of salt ; boil it along with 
the fat, ten or fifteen minutes ; strain while hot ; let it 
remain quiet for twenty-four hours, and take out the 
tallow cake to further wash it in cold clean water till no 
salt or alum taste is perceptible ; then melt it over in a 
clean boiler ; add one-quarter of a pound of benzoin in 



446 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

powder ; boil the whole gently with care, with about a 
gallon of water ; skim it from time to time, and allow 
the water to evaporate almost completely on the fire ; 
let the whole settle, and pour the clear prepared fat 
carefully into clean firkins or crocks, for use, properly 
covered and kept in a cool cellar. Fat thus prepared 
will keep sweet and be suitable for cooking purposes, and 
also will take up the smell of sweet-scented flowers, such 
as the tuberose and others, by being first melted over a 
slow fire ; when melted, the sweet and strong-scented 
flowers are put in a vessel, closed by a lid, and the whole 
allowed to remain in contact at a temperature sufficient 
to keep the sweet fat liquid for forty-eight hours ; it is 
then strained, and it has acquired the odor of the flowers 
placed in contact with it. To concentrate the same 
odor, melt again at a low heat under the lid the same 
fat ; add another quantity of the same flowers, and pro- 
ceed as before. 

This scented fat can be softened for using as a flower 
pomade by adding to it, in the melted state, one-quarter 
to one-third of a pound of fine olive, almond or castor 
oil to make it less firm and of more convenient use for 
the purpose above set forth. Lard purified and prepared 
by the first process employed for the preparation of 
tallow, can be employed instead of the oils already men- 
tioned, but being rather thicker, will require a larger 
proportion than of the oils, to make the pomade of a 
suitable consistency. 



A NEW WAY TO PREPARE ANIMAL FAT FOR SOAP- 
MAKING, TO KEEP IT SWEET AND FACILITATE 
GREATLY ITS TRANSFORMATION INTO SOAP. 

Tallow, when exposed at common temperature in the 
air, gradually acquires an unpleasant, rank sm.ell. This 
can be prevented by cutting it in slices, and boiling it 
in water containing for every one-hundred pounds of fat 
(water, thirty -five to forty pounds), one-quarter of a 
pound of alum, one-half pound of salt ; this is boiled 



THE HOME MECHAN^IC. 447 

together and strained ; the cake of strained fat taken up 
and washed in clean water ; then remelted at a low heat 
and poured into a barrel containing twice as much water 
(by measure) as of the melted grease, and to this water 
add about ten per cent, of good clear sweet soap com- 
pared to the amount of grease, the water not to be more 
than blood-heat, and the temperature of the grease about 
the same. The whole is thoroughly stirred with a broad 
stick till cold, when it is allowed to rest and separate 
from the water, which is afterward withdrawn, and the 
fat remaining, in a granular state, completely drained, 
and finally dried in a current of dry air, is then trans- 
ferred and packed in firkins, crocks or barrels. 

Grained fat thus prepared, is kept sweet, and is also 
acted on by the lye with far greater ease and rapidity, 
in consequence no doubt of its grain-like state, which 
enables the alkali in the lye to act upon a greater surface 
at once without requiring the boiling of the fat with the 
lye, and producing a soap free of rank smell, while the 
grained fat in suet may be preserved sweet for soap- 
m^aking purposes for years, if thoroughly dried before 
packing away. 



TO MAKE SOAP FROM GRAINED TALLOW. 

Take of grained tallow, twenty-five pounds. 

Hot lye, prepared with soda ash, six pounds ; potash, 
two pounds. 

Hot water seventeen to twenty gallons. 

Put a portion of the hot lye into a clean barrel ; stir 
in it the grained tallow ; add the balance of hot lye, and 
keep up a brisk stirring for an hour or more ; then allow 
it to rest, and before it is cold, pour it into a frame or 
tub as before stated, to set. 

Although this plan is best adapted to persons wishing 
to make their own soap without an expensive apparatus 
as is required in the usual manufacturer's boiling soap 
pan system, the method of working the Grained Tallow 
on the large scale will also be given hereafter. 



448 



THE HOME MECHAN'IC. 



PREPARATION OF DOMESTIC SOAP BY PAN ON THE 

OPEN FIRE. 

The following diagram represents the vertical section 
of a pan for soap hoiling, and furnace. 
The sides are composed of brick work erected, and 




lined with Eoman cement. The upper part, P F F F, 
which never comes in contact with the fire, and is in- 
tended to afford space for the soap to rise, expands in 
the form of an inverted cone. The fireplace, B, is sep- 
arated from the ashpit, H, by the grate, E. The fire, 
after having heated the bottom of the pan, passes by the 
flue^ T T T, half round the side of the pan into the 
chimney, A. This is made accessible by the door X ; 
the soot is the room into the pit L. A, tube with a 
cock, leads from the lowest part of the pan for the re- 
moval of the under lye. The whole of the pan is sunk 
into the floor of the boiling house, which is made of 
planks, stone or iron, in such a manner that the brick 
work of the upper part projects to about three feet above 
the floor. 

Wood, cast and sheet iron kettles are used, but the 
latter is the best ; they will last longer than cast iron. 
They also, when burned through, can be satisfactorily 
repaired whereas the others are altogether useless. Here 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 449 

again the soft sheet h'on of the first quality should be 
selected, the bottom pan being from three-eighths to one- 
quarter of an inch thick, and the sides from three-six- 
teenths to one-quarter of an inch in thickness, accord- 
ing to dimensions. Much attention should be paid to 
riveting the pieces, so that no openings are left for 
leakage. The rivets, moreover, in the lower third part 
should be inserted evenly with the bottom, and counter 
sunk, otherwise the workman cannot go smoothly and 
thoroughly over with his crutch (a long stirrer the shape 
of a T) — a necessary part of the process, to prevent the 
soap from burning. Such a boiler, judiciously heated 
and carefully cleaned after each operation, will last five 
years and more without needing repairs. 

In kettles designed for soap boiling, the heat must be 
confined to the bottom, for if it is allowed to circulate 
around the sides, the materials inside would inevitably 
burn. In order, then, to circumscribe the heat, it is 
necessary — 

1st. That the grate be placed in the center of the 
hearth, and vertically below the kettle. 

2d. That the inside of the fireplace be built of fire 
bricks, in order that the heat may be thrown back below 
the bottom of the kettle. 

3d. The fuel employed to be that which produces the 
most heat and the least flame. Hard coal is then to be 
preferred. 

4th. The openings through which the products of 
combustion pass and enter the chimney, should possess 
together the same surface as the grate, experience having 
shown that this is the best method for obtaining a good 
draft, and effecting a complete combustion of the fuel. 

For transforming one hundred pounds of fat into soap 
(the yield in soap is about one hundred and sixty-five to 
one hundred and seventy pounds to the one hundred 
pounds of fat), from fifteen to twenty pounds of soda 
ash (or caustic soda) is required, according to the purity 
of the alkali — the purer it is the less it requires — and 
about one hundred and thirty gallons of pure water, 
previously deprived of the carbonic acid gas it naturally 
29 



450 THE HOME MECHAT^IC. 

holds in solution by boiling ; by increasing the dose of 
soda-ash this extra labor may be avoided. 

When about one-fourth of the lye has been added and 
mixed with the hot fat in the pan, it soon forms a milky 
cream, which in heating gradually becomes clearer, pro- 
ducing a transparent, soapy liquid, with oily drops in- 
termingled. From time to time a drop of the pasty 
liquid should be put on the tongue ; if there is still 
some uncombined lye in it, a burning or tingling sensa- 
tion will be felt, in which case the boiling must be con- 
tinued until a sweetish taste replaces the other impres- 
sion, when again tasted as before. Then more lye 
is added gradually under constant stirring, until the 
whole is put in. At this stage, the contents of the kettle 
are modified into a uniform, clear mass, in which is to 
be seen neither fat nor lye. Should saponification pro- 
gress slowly, a couple of pounds of soap shavings thrown 
in will assist the progress of the operations. 

By heating with an open fire it sometimes happens 
that a portion of the soapy matter, when it thickens, 
adheres to the bottom of the pan, and becoming over- 
heated, burns and produces a smoky vapor. When this 
occurs, the fire should be forthwith reduced, and a few 
gallons of strong lye added to prevent further mischief. 
By this means a slight separation of the soap from the 
lye is produced, and the mischief arrested. In all cases 
the operation described above is complete when, having 
taken out the stirring rod or crutch, the soapy parts no 
longer run from it, but slide down in long threads. This 
is called the spinning of the soap. 

W^hen all the lye has been made to combine with the 
fat, and the soap is substantially made, it may be sepa- 
rated from the watery portion containing the glycerine 
and an excess of alkaline salts by slowly boiling the mass 
down till the soap separates from the liquid below it ; 
but this is more tedious, and requires greater experience 
in conducting the operation than the following mode of 
proceeding, called ^'^the salting process. ^^ The soap is 
kept gently boiling, one workman gradually adds dry, 
pure salt, while another workman agitates the soapy 



THE HOME MECHAN^IC. 451 

mass with a crutch from below, upwards. From 12 to 16 
lbs. is needed for 100 lbs. of fat changed into soap, and 
should be put in in the proportion of about one eighth of 
the whole salt at a time. However, after one-half has 
been added, the soap should be allowed to boil for about 
ten minutes before more is added. The separation is per- 
fect when the watery portion is observed to run off from 
the curdy mass ; when a sample is taken up with a knife 
it is not sticky while hot, and when placed on the hand 
and rubbed with the fingers, it hardens into scaly 
lumps. The surface of the soap, furthermore, splits 
into several fields, separated from one another by deep 
furrows, in which there is not the soft appearance of 
froth, but of dry slabs, which slowly arrange themselves 
above one another by the force of the escaping hot vapor 
from below. 

The fire should then be put out, when the soap in the 
main, which was always covered with froth and bubbles, 
sinks, and the froth breaks up into roundish, massive, 
grain-like matter, distinct from each other and from 
the watery portion. 

The salting process being completed, the whole should 
be allowed to remain undisturbed for several hours, and 
afterward the watery liquid underneath drawn off 
through the faucet below. The glycerine in that liquid 
can be separated and collected for use in the arts, but 
for the process, as given by a French chemist,* it could 
not be rendered practicable, with profit, on a small scale. 
On the whole, the soap water waste can be usefully 
thrown over the compost pit for manuring purposes, and 
it is probably the best use it can be put to by such manu- 
facturers in the country. 

After the withdrawal of the watery part, the soap is 
ladled out into wooden frames to set, and be afterward 
cut in bars. The soap as thus prepared is called grained 
soap. It may, however, be further purified for fine 
toilet soaps by re-dissolving it in an alkaline lye, and 
separating by common salt as before stated. During this 

* See American Journal of Pharmacy, XX., 549. 



452 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

last process, any remaining impurities subside, and the 
soap combines with more water, and hence it become^, 
weaker, but purer and whiter. If the mottled red and 
gray appearance of castile soap is desired, that can be 
imparted to the grained soap by adding to it as soon as 
it is completely separated, a fresh portion of lye, and 
immediately afterward about one ounce of sulphate of 
n-on. The black oxide of iron is precipitated, and gives 
rise to dark colored streaks, which, by exposure to the 
air, become gradually red in consequence of the conver- 
sion of the black oxide, first produced by the lye chang- 
ing into red oxide of iron through the action of the 
oxygen in the air. 



ROSIN SOAP. 

Fifteen per cent, of rosin can be saponified with pot- 
ash or soda lye, and mixed with clear, warm tallow soap 
to a good purpose ; more would deteriorate it, although 
for the cheapest grade of soaps, thirty-three per cent, 
is often added ; but such soaps remain soft and clammy, 
and are unsatisfactory to the consumer. Twelve gallons 
of strong lye (30° to 36° Beaume) are needed for 100 lbs. 
of rosin. Some soap-makers melt it with the fat in the 
commencement of the boiling of the soap, but experience 
has shown that it is best to prepare a pure tallow 
soap first, and afterward mix with it the rosin soap, 
made in a separate kettle. Both soaps in the hot state 
are to be thoroughly incorporated, by stirring and beat- 
ing intimately for half an hour, and the whole passed 
through a wire sieve before transferring to the frames, 
and therein also well stirred with the crutch. Some 
palm oil, when saponified along with the tallow, will 
much improve the appearance of such a soap. 

The rosin, previous to its being put in contact with 
the lye, should be ground fine, and while one workman 
is occupied in throwing it into the boiler containing the 
hot lye, another should be constantly occupied in stir- 
ring it in, as the mixture easily rises. The heat must 
not be too rapidly increased, nor is it necessary that it 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 453 

should boil all tlie time, but merely kept near tlie boil- 
ing point ; but it is indispensable to keep stirring the 
mixture all the time, otherwise caking of the rosin 
will interfere with the progress of the operation. Saponi- 
fication will be completed in about two hours, and then 
it may be added to the fat about being converted into 
soap, as above described. 



TRANSPARENT SOAPS 

Are usually prepared from good tallow and rosin soap 
thoroughly dried and cut into thin shavings. These 
are stirred in strong alcohol (sp. gr., 849.), heated in a 
still to the boiling point in a water-bath or steam jacket 
arrangement ; a stirring rod being connected with the 
still the soap is promptly dissolved, and the alcohol con- 
densed in a worm and recipient, for future operations, 
while the soap is discharged from its boiler through a 
pipe and faucet at the bottom into a kettle, where it is 
rapidly perfumed with essential oils, and from there 
into molds of any given form for purposes of sale. 
Three and a half to four gallons of alcohol are usually 
employed in dissolving 50 lbs. of soap in shavings. 



FOR SOAP-MAKING BY THE COLD WAY. 

The fat is melted at a low heat, not warmer than 
blood heat, and the lye gradually added — 40 lbs. of 
strong lye (about 36°, Beaume *) to 80 lbs. of fat, and 
less,- even should the lye be stronger still. The lye 
should be perfectly clear, and not more than tepid in 
temperature. The fat and the lye should be persistently 
stirred with a broad wooden spatula, having sharp edges 
at its lower end, and rounded at its upper, for easy 
handling. The paddling should be kept up until a ring 
drawn with the spatula remains visible a short time. 

* Pronounced Bo-may. By the use of this word we mean 
Beaume's hydrometer, which can be purchased of any manu- 
facturer of thermometers. 



454 THE HOME MECHANiC. 

It is at that point that the coloring matters and per- 
fumes are added, if any are wanted. 

The parts should then be run into frames, previously 
lined with muslin so carefully that no folds be formed at 
the edges of the box. Each frame should be entirely 
filled with the soap, and well closed, with the margin 
of the muslin, and also fitted with a modern cover. 
The whole should be left for about one day to rest in a 
mild temperature, the complete change or saponification 
completing itself in the frames, where the temperature 
rises spontaneously to sometimes over 175° F. Under 
the influence of this action the various constituent prin- 
ciples in the mass, including the glycerine, become 
further combined, and a soap produced almost resem- 
bling that of boiled soaps. At the expiration of twenty- 
four hours the soap may be taken up from the frames, 
and cut up in bars to dry. Sometimes, especially when 
mutton tallow is mostly employed with soda for the lye, 
one-tenth of potash is added, to diminish the hardness 
of the soap ; at the same time it increases its solubility 
and quality, the soap resulting from that addition not 
being brittle when dry, as it would be when exclusively 
made of hard tallow and soda lye. The yield of such 
soap is about 150 lbs. to 100 lbs. of fat. 



SOAP-MAKING BY STEAM. 

In large manufactories steam is now employed for the 
manufacture of soap. The use of it injures the vessels 
used less than fire, and burning the soap is entirely avoid- 
ed. Both exhaust and live steam are used, and the sim- 
plest method for the employment of either is with an 
open kettle with double walls. Between these double 
walls of the kettle the steam may be used, while a coil 
is introduced into the interior of the kettle, through 
which steam is also passed. Still better, according to 
G-erman authorities, is the steam and stirring apparatus 
of Morfit, which is delineated in the figure annexed. 
It will be easily understood by examining the illustration 
that B is a hollow or pipe shaft passing through the 



455 




456 THE HOME MECHAI^IC. 

stuffing box at H, and movable perpendicularly by tbe 
motion of tbe cogged wlieel D, wbich motion is directly 
communicated to tbe wheel E. Attached to B are two 
sets of pipes, C C, bent as delineated. F is a pipe from 
the boiler for tbe introduction of steam. The steam 
passes along F into the stuffing box at H ; here, the 
pipe B being perforated, the steam enters it, and passes 
down into C 0. IN^ow by a crank, the wheel D is moved, 
the motion is communicated to E, and consequently to 
B and C. The latter arrangement of pipes moves 
horizontally in the mixed lye and fat, and thus acts as a 
stirrer, while at the same time it communicates the heat 
needed to carry on the process. It is well to say, how- 
ever, that though exhaust steam may just answer to pro- 
duce soap in this apparatus from the easily saponified 
palm and cocoa-nut oil, it will hardly answer for olive 
and more refractory fats. 



SOAP-MAKING IN CLOSED VESSELS. 

The effort to use steam in closed vessels under pressure 
has been tried with a partial success only. The appar- 
atus of Mouveau consists of a kettle provided with a man- 
hole, a safety-valve, and a stirring apparatus. It is, 
moreover, provided with a collar, through which steam 
or cold water may be passed as required. 

The temperature in this is allowed to reach about 
150° Centigrade (302° F.). The fat and lye are introduced 
at the beginning of the operation by the man-hole, which 
is then closed. After the air is well expelled by the 
heat, the safety-valve is also closed. Further charges 
of lye or fat are driven into the vessel by a force pump. 
The soap and spent lye are withdrawn by means of cocks 
connecting with a jDipe running through the collar of 
the vessel. According to Mouveau, the closed vessel 
gives an economy of time, labor and fuel. But there is 
this drawback connected with its use, to wit : the prog- 
ress of the mixture toward saponification cannot be ex- 



THE HOME MECirAXTC. 



457 



amined, and such operations as salting cannot be nicely 
and easily performed. 



SOAP BOILING WITH LIVE STEAM USED DIRECT. 

The use of steam indirectly by the medium of double 
walled kettles, or through coils, leads to a loss of heat. 
The use of exhaust steam in direct contact with the 




fluids carries too much water into the soap, the cause 
being the ready condensation of the exhaust steam. Live 
steam is applied directly to the grease and lye by various 
machines. One method is simply to introduce the 
steam by a cock into an open kettle containing the 
materials, and many of the best soaps are so m.ade in 
England. Another method is with the closed vessel. A 



458 THE HOME MEOHAN-IC. 

macliine patented in England by E. Hodgson and C. 
Holden, adapted to this method, we here give a diagram 
and description of. It is a cylinder resting as depicted 
(p. 29), and movable on its axis, having a perforated 
pipe, K, through which steam is admitted to the soapy 
mass in the cylinder. At S is a man-hole for the in- 
sertion and withdrawal of the materials. At T a spigot. 
When steam is first admitted, the cover to the man-hole 
at S being securely fastened, the cylinder is turned so 
that T comes uppermost ; the cock is opened ; the air 
allowed to escape, and the cock closed again. A con- 
tinuation or prolongation of the central steam pipe 
passes through a stuffing box, and has connection with 
a steam gauge and safety-valve. 

This apparatus has the same fault as all closed vessels 
— the saponifying process cannot be closely examined. 
There is almost a necessity in these cases of withdrawing 
the partially formed soap into an open boiler, and finish- 
ing the process. 



BOILING WITH SUPER-HEATED STEAM. 

The best method of employing steam in large manu- 
factories, is to use it in a super-heated condition. The 
accompanying figures will exhibit the process of super- 
heating the steam, and of controlling its passage. The 
first figure (p. 31) exhibits the super-heating coil, the 
middle portions of which. A, are composed of cast-iron ; 
the joints with the curved piping, C, etc., and B B, 
etc., are made steam-tight in the usual way. The second 
figure (p. 32) shows the coil in the furnace. The fire 
plays only directly upon the cast-iron portions of the 
coil. The steam, previous to being admitted to the coil, 
passes through the condensing chest, D, to which is 
attached a cock, E, to let off the water of condensation. 
A steam cock at F gives control of the passage of the 
steam. G- permits the flow of the super-heated steam 
to the soap kettle. Super-heated steam may be used like 
ordinary steam, but, as previously stated, the open kettle 
is preferable. 



THE HOME MECHAXIC. 



459 



The coil should be heated previous to the admission of 

steam from half an 
hour to an hour, and 
the temperature of 
the passing steam 
may be comparatively 
low in the early por- 
tion of the process, 
gradually raising it 
to a height of 150° 
or 160°, Centigrade. 
The admission of the 
steam being fully un- 
der control by means 
of the cock at F, there 
can be no boiling over. 
There is no danger 
of burning the soap, 
and in short, the use 
of super-heated steam 
commends itself to 
the large manufact- 
urer of soap as the 
readiest and most eco- 
nomical method yet 
devised. 




ADULTERATION 
SOAP. 



OF 



Soap is not exempt- 
ed from the manipu- 
lation of fraud. Its 
external appearance 
often prevents the 
unpracticed eye from 
detecting the impurities it may contain, without fur- 
ther examination. 



460 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 461 

China clay is a common addition made to soap to in- 
crease its bulk. If a soap containing it be dissolved in 
hot water^ one part of soap in ten of water, on allowing 
the solution to rest, the clay will be found at the bot- 
tom of the vessel, and its proportion in the soap ascer- 
tained: 

Soap largely admixtured with soluble glass (a solution 
of flint or silica in an excess of caustic soda) is very 
common in the market. Its weight is much greater 
than that of soap in its unadulterated state, and will 
usually show at once the probability of such an admixt- 
ure, although such a soap may leave no sediment in a 
solution of it in hot water ; but it is unsafe to employ 
it for washing fine fabrics, as it is apt to weaken them 
on account of the excess of alkali it imparts to the soap 
with which it is mixed. 

From 10 to 30 per cent, of the silicate of soda is gen- 
erally added. The soap feels somewhat hard and gritty 
in use. The soluble glass is introduced gradually into 
the pan after all the grease is in, and stirred actively 
until thoroughly mixed. 

Soap is also sometimes contaminated with lime ; this 
renders it partially insoluble in water, and makes it 
unfit for the laundry or the toilet. 



FUSED SULPHATE OF SODA. 

This article has been used to harden soaps, which, 
made from inferior fats, would otherwise be too soft. 
This substance (Glauber salts, melted on a shovel or 
otherwise,) added to the soap in the proportion of 1 lb. 
of the salt to 20 lbs. of the soap, is said to remedy the 
defect, and to make a hard and sound soap out of what 
would otherwise be too soft for economical use. 



MOTTLED SOAP. 



The mottled appearance given to uncolored soap is 
produced by watering the nearly finished soap with strong 



462 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

soda lye, by means of a watering can furnished with a 
rose spout. 



TOILET SOAPS. 

FROM PIESSE'S ART OF PERFUMERY. 

The primary soaps are divided into hard and soft soaps : 
the hard soaps contain soda as the base ; those which 
are soft are prepared with potash. These are again 
divisible into varieties, according to the fatty matter 
employed in their manufacture, also according to the 
proportion of alkali. The most important of these to 
the perfumer is what is termed curd soap, as it forms 
the basis of all the highly-scented soaps. 

Curd soap is a nearly neutral soap of pure soda and 
fine tallow. 

Oil soap, as made in England, is an uncolored com- 
bination of olive oil and soda, hard, close grain, and 
contains but little water in combination. 

Castile soap, as imported from Spain, is a similar com- 
bination, but is colored by protosulphate of iron. The 
solution of the salt being added to the soap after it is 
manufactured, from the presence of alkali, decomposi- 
tion of the salt takes place, and protoxide of iron is dif- 
fused through the soap of its well-known black color, 
giving the familiar marbled appearance to it. When 
the soap is cut up into bars, and exposed to the air, the 
protoxide passes by absorption of oxygen into peroxide ; 
hence, a section of a bar of castile soap shows the outer 
edge red-marbled, while the interior is black-marbled. 
Some castile soap is not artificially colored, but a similar 
appearance is produced by the use of a barilla or soda 
containing sulphuret of the alkaline base, and at other 
times from the presence of an iron salt. 

Marine soap is a cocoa-nut oil soap, of soda, contain- 
ing a great excess of alkali, and much water combina- 
tion. 

Yellow soap is a soda soap of tallow, rosin, of lard, 
etc., etc. 



THE HOME MECHAN-IC. 463 

Palm soap is a soda soap of palm oil, retaining the pe- 
culiar odor and color of the oil unchanged. The odor- 
iferous principle of palm oil resembling that from orris- 
root, can be dissolved out of it by tincturation with 
alcohol ; like ottos generally, it remains intact in the pre- 
sence of an alkali, hence soap made of palm oil retains 
the odor of the oil. 

The public require a soap that will not shrink and 
change shape after they purchase it. It must make a 
profuse lather during the act of washing. It must not 
leave the skin rough after using it. It must be either 
quite inodorous or have a pleasant aroma, l^one of the 
above soaps possess all these qualities in union, and, there- 
fore, to produce such an article is the object of the per- 
fumer in his remelting process. 

Fig soft soap is a combination of oils, principally olive 
oil of the commonest kind, with potash. 

Naples soft soap is a fish oil (mixed with Lucca oil) 
and potash, colored brown for the London shavers, re- 
taining, when pure, its unsophisticated '^^ fishy ^^ odor. 

The above soaps constitute the real body or base of 
all the fancy scented soaps as made -by the perfumers, 
which are mixed and remelted according to the follow- 
ing formula : 

The remelting process is exceedingly simple. The 
bar soap is first cut up into thin slabs, by pressing them 
against a wire fixed upon the working bench. This 
cutting wire (piano wire is the kind) is made taut upon 
the bench, by being attached to two screws. These 
screws regulate the height of the wire from the bench, 
and hence the thickness of the slabs from the bars. The 
soap is cut up into thin slabs, because it would be next 
to impossible to melt a bar whole, on account of soap 
being one of the worst conductors of heat. 

The melting pan is an iron vessel, of various sizes, 
capable of holding from 28 lbs. to 3 cwt. , heated by a 
steam jacket, or by a water bath. The soap is put into 
the pan by degrees, or what is in the vernacular called 
'^ rounds,''^ that is, the thin slabs are placed perpen- 
dicularly all round the side of the pan ; a few ounces of 



464 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



water are at the same time introduced, the steam of 
which assists the melting. The pan being covered nj), 
in about half an hour the soap will have " run down/' 
Another round is then introduced, and so continued every 
half hour until the whole " melting " is finished. The 
more water a soap contains, the easier is it melted ; hence 
a round of marine soap, or of new yellow soap will run 
down in half the time that it requires for old soap. 

When different soaps are being remelted to form one 
kind when finished, the various sorts are to be inserted 
into the pan in alternate rounds, but each round must 
consist only of one kind, to insure uniformity of condi- 
tion. As the soap melts, in order to mix it, and to 
break up lumps, etc., it is from time to time " crutched.''' 
The ^^ crutch '^ is an instrumenb or tool for stirring up 
the soap ; its name is indicative of its form, a long handle 
with a short cross — an inverted T, curved to fit the curve 
of the pan. When the soaps are all melted, it is then 
colored, if so required, and then the perfume is added, 
the whole being thoroughly incorporated with the crutch. 
The soap is then turned into the ^^ frame.'' The frame 

is a box made in 
sections, in order 
that it can be tak- 
en to pieces, so 
that the soap can 
be cut up when 
cold ; the sections 
or '^^ lifts" are fre- 
quently made of 
the width of the 
intended bar of 
soap. 

Frame and Stab Gauge. Two Or three 

days after the soap has been in the frame, it is cool enough 
to cut into slabs of the size of the lifts or sections of the 
frame ; these slabs are set up edgeways to cool for a day or 
two more ; it is then barred by means of a wire. The lifts 
of the frame regulate the widths of the bars ; the guage 
regulates their breadth. The density of the soap being 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 



465 




pretty well known, the gauges are made so that the soap- 
cutter can cut up the bars either into fours, sixes, or 

eights ; that is, either 
into quarters of four, 
six, or eight to the 
pound weight. Lat- 
terly, various mechan- 
ical arrangements 
have been introduced 
for soap-cutting, which 
in very large establish- 

Barring Gauge. ments, SUCh aS thoSC 

at Marseilles, in France, are great economizers of 
labor ; but in England the '^ wire " is still used. 

For making tablet shapes the soap is first cut into 
squares, and is then put 
into a mold, and finally 
under a press — a modi- 
fication of an ordinary 
die or coin press. Balls 
are cut by hand, with 
the aid of a little tool 
called a '' scoop,^" made 
of brass or ivory, being, 
in fact, a* ring-shajoed 
knife. Balls are also 
made in a press with a 




Squaring Guage. 



mold of appropriate form. The grotesque form and fruit 

shape are also ob- 
tained by the press 
and approj^riate 
molds. The fruit- 
shaped soaps, after 
leaving the mold, 
are dipped into 
melted wax, and 
are then colored ac- 
cording to artificial 
fruit-makers^ rules 
Soap Scoop. The '^ variega- 

30 




466 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 




ted " colored soaps are produced by adding the various 
colors, such as smalt and vermilion, previously mixed 

with water, to the soap 
in a melted state ; 
these colors are but 
slightly crutched in, 
hence the streaky 
appearance or parti- 
color of the soap ; this 
kind is also termed 
'^ marbled ^^ soap. 

A Imon d Soap. — 
This soap, by some 
persons supposed to be 
made of ^^ sweet al- 
mond oil,^'' and by 
others to be a mystic 
combination of sweet 
and bitter almonds, is 
in reality constituted 

Soap Press. ^^^^ . 

Einest curd soap, 1 cwt. ; finest oil soap, 14 lbs. ; finest 
marine, 14 lbs. ; otto of almonds, 1-^- lb. ; otto of cloves, 
i lb. ; otto of caraway, -J lb. By the time that half the 
curd soap is melted, the 
marine soap is to be add- 
ed ; when this is well 
crutched, then add the 
oil soap, and finish with 
the remaining curd. 
When the whole is well 
melted, and just before 
turning it into the frame, 
crutch in the mixed perfume. 

Some of the soap ^^ houses^' endeavored to use Mira- 
bane or artificial essence of Almonds (Benzole) for per- 
fuming soap, it being far cheaper than the true otto of 
almonds ; but the application has proved so unsatisfac- 
tory in practice, that it has been abandoned by Messrs. 
Gibbs, Pineau(of Paris), Grosnell, and others who used it. 




Molds. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 467 

Camphor Soap. — Curd soap, 28 lbs. ; otto of rosemary, 
l-g- lb. ; camphor, 1^ lb. Eeduce the camphor to powder 
by rubbing it in a mortar, with the addition of an ounce 
or more of alm.ond oil, then sift it. When the soap is 
melted and ready to turn out, add the camphor and 
rosemary, using the crutch for mixing. 

Honey Soap. — Best yellow soap, 1 cwt.; fig soft soap, 
14 lbs. ; otto of citronella, l-^- lb. 

White Windsor Soap. — Curd soap, 1 cwt.; marine 
soap, 21 lbs. ; oil soap, 14 lbs. ; otto of caraway, 1^ lb. ; 
otto of thyme, of rosemary, each, ^ lb. ; otto of cassia, of 
cloves, each, ^ lb. 

Broivn Windsor Soap. — Curd soap, f cwt.; marine 
soap, ^ cwt. ; yellow soap, \ cwt. ; oil soap, ^ cwt. ; brown 
coloring (caramel *), i pint ; otto of caraway, of cloves, 
of thyme, of cassia, of petit grain, of French lavender, 
each, Y lb. 

Sand Soap. — Curd soap, 7 lbs.; marine soap, 7 lbs.; 
sifted silver sand, 28 lbs. ; otto of thyme, of cassia, of 
caraway, of French lavender, each, 2 oz. 

Fuller's Earth Soap. — Curd soap, 10^ lbs.; marine 
soap, 3-g- lbs.; Fuller s earth (baked), 14 lbs.; otto of 
French lavender, 2 oz. ; otto of origanum, 1 oz. 

The above forms are indicative of the method adopted 
for perfuming soaps while hot or melted. 

All the very highly scented soaps are, however, per- 
fumed cold, in order to avoid the loss of scent, 20 per 
cent, of perfume being evaporated by the hot process. 

The variously named soaps, from the sublime '^ ^u\- 
tana^'' to the ridiculous '^^Turtle^'s Marrow ^^ we cannot, 
of course, be expected to notice ; the reader may, how- 
ever, rest assured that he has lost nothing by their omis- 
sion. 

The recipes given produce only the finest quality of 
the article named. Where cheap soaps are required, not 
much acumen is necessary to discern that by omitting 
the expensive perfumes, or lessening the quantity, the 
object desired is attained. Still lower qualities of 
scented soap are made by using greater proportions of 

* Burned sugar. 



4G8 THE HOME 3IECHAKIC. 

yellow soap, and employing a very common curd, omit- 
ting the oil soap altogether. 



SCENTING SOAPS HOT. 
In the previous remarks, the methods explained of 
scenting soap involved the necessity of melting it. 
The high temperature of the soap under these circum- 
stances involves the obvious loss of a great deal of per- 
fume hy evaporation. With very highly scented soaps, 
and with perfume of an expensive character^ the loss of 
ottos is too great to be borne in a commercial sense ; 
hence the adoption of the plan of scenting soaps cold. 



SCENTING SOAPS COLD. 

This method is exceedingly convenient and economical 
for scenting small batches, involving merely mechanical 
labor, the tools required being simply an ordinary car- 
penter^s plane, and a good marble mortar, and lignum 
vitae pestle. 

The woodwork of the plane must be fashioned at each 
end, so that when placed over the mortar it remains firm 
and not easily moved by the parallel pressure of the soap 
against its projecting blade. 

To commence operations, we take first 7 lbs., 14 lbs., 
or 21 lbs. of the bars of the soap that it is intended to 
perfume. The plane is now laid upside down across the 
top of the mortar. 

Things being thus arranged, the whole of the soap is 
to be pushed across the plane until it is all reduced into 
fine shavings. Like the French " Charbonnier,^" who 
does not saw the wood, but woods the saw, so it will be 
perceived that in this process we do not plane the soap, 
but that we soap the plane, the shavings of which fall 
lightly into the mortar as quickly as produced. 

Soap as generally received from the maker is in the 
proper condition for thus working ; but if it has been in 
stock any time it becomes too hard, and must have from 
one to three ounces of distilled water sprinkled in the 
shaving for every pound of soap employed, and must lay 



THE HOME MECHAI^IC. 



469 




Soaping the Plane. 



for at least twenty-four hours to be absorbed before the 
perfume is added to it. 

When it is determined what size the cakes of soap are 
to be, what they are to 
sell for, and what it is 
intended they should 
cost, then the maker can 
measure out his per- 
fume. 

The soap being in a 
proper physical condi- 
tion with regard to mois- 
ture, etc., is now to have 
the perfume well stirred 
into it. The pestle is 
then set to work for the 
process of incorporation. 
After a couple of hours of " warm exercise,'^ the soap is 
generally expected to be free from streaks, and to be 
of one uniform consistency. 

For perfuming soap in large portions by the cold pro- 
cess, instead of using the pestle and mortar as an incor- 
porator, it is more convenient and economical to employ 
a mill similar in construction to a cake chocolate-mill, 
or a flake cocoa-nut mill ; any mechanical apparatus that 
answers for mixing paste and crushing lumps will serve 
pretty well for blending soap together. 

Before going into the mill, the soap is to be reduced 
to shavings, and have the scent and color stirred in ; 
after leaving it, the flakes or ribands of soap are to be 
finally bound together by the pestle and mortar into one 
solid mass ; it is then weighed out in quantities for the 
tablets required, and molded by the hand into egg-shaped 
masses ; each piece being left in this condition, sepa- 
rately laid in rows on a sheet of white paper, dries suffi- 
ciently in a day or so to be fit for the press, which is the 
same as that previously mentioned. It is usual, before 
placing the cakes of soap in the press, to dust them over 
with a little starch powder, or else to very slightly oil 
the mold ; either of these plans prevents the soap from 



470 THE HOME MECHAI^'IC. 

adhering to the letters or embossed work of the mold — a 
condition essential for turning out a clean, well-struck 
tablet. 

The body of all the fine soaps mentioned below should 
consist of the finest and whitest curd soap, or of a soap 
previously melted and colored to the required shade, 
thus : 

Eose-colored soap is curd soap stained with vermilion, 
ground in water, thoroughly incorporated when the soap 
is melted, and not very hot. 

Green soap is a mixture of palm oil soap and curd soap, 
to which is added powdered smalt ground with water. 

Blue soap, curd soap colored with smalt. 

Brown soap, curd soap with caramel, i. e., burned 
sugar. 

The intensity of color varies, of course, with the quan- 
tity of coloring. 

Some kinds of soap become colored or tinted to a suffi- 
cient extent by the mere addition of the ottos used for 
scenting, such as "spermaceti soap,"*^ '^'^ lemon soap, ^"^ 
etc., which become of a beautiful pale lemon color by 
the mere mixing of the perfume with the curd soap. 

Otto of Rose Soap. — (An expensive kind of soap). — 
Curd soap (previously colored with vermilion), 4^ lbs. ; 
otto of rose, 1 oz. ; spirituous extract of musk, 2 oz. ; 
otto of santal, i oz. ; otto of geranium, \ oz. Mix the 
perfumes, stir them in the soap shavings, and beat to- 
gether. 

Tonquin Musk Soap. — Pale brown-colored curd soap, 
5 lbs. ; grain musk, \ oz. ; otto of bergamot, 1 oz. Eub 
the musk with the bergamot, then add it to the soap, 
and beat up. 

Orange Flower Soap. — Curd soap, 7 lbs. ; otto of 
neroli, 3|- oz. 

Santal-wood Soap. — Curd soap, 7 lbs.; otto of santal, 
7 oz. ; otto of bergamot, 2 oz. 

Spermaceti Soap. — Curd soap, 14 lbs. ; otto of berga- 
mot, 2y lbs. ; otto of lemon, \ lb. 

Citron Soap. — Curd soap, 6 lbs. ; otto of citron, fib. ; 
otto of verbena (lemon grass), -^ oz. ; otto of bergamot. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 471 

4 oz. ; otto of lemon, 2 oz. One of the best of fancy- 
soaps that is made. 

Frangipanni Soap. — Curd soap (previously colored 
light brown), 7 lbs. ; civet, \ oz. ; otto of neroli, ^ oz. ; 
otto of santal, l-J oz. ; otto of rose, \ oz. ; otto of vitivert, 
■5- oz. Rub the civet with the various ottos, mix, and 
beat in the usual manner. 

Patchouly Soap. — Curd soap, 4-J lbs. ; otto of pa- 
tchouly, 1 oz. ; otto of santal, of vitivert, each, ^ oz. 



SAPONACEOUS CREAM OF ALMONDS. 

The preparation sold under this title is a potash soft 
soap of lard. It has a beautiful pearly appearance, and 
has met with extensive demand as a shaving soap. Being 
also used in the manufacture of Emulsines, it is an arti- 
cle of no inconsiderable consumption by the perfumer. 
It is made thus : Clarified lard, 7 lbs. ; potash lye (con- 
taining 26 per cent, of caustic potash), 3f lbs. ; rectified 
spirit, 3 oz. ; otto of almonds, 2 drachms. 

Manipulation. — Melt the lard in a porcelain vessel by 
a salt water bath, or by a steam heat under 15 lbs. pres- 
sure ; then run in the lye, very slowly, agitating the 
whole time ; when about half the lye is in, the mixture 
begins to curdle ; it will, however, become so firm that 
it cannot be stirred. The creme is then finished, but 
is not pearly ; it will, however, assume that appearance 
by long trituration in a mortar, gradually adding the 
alcohol, in which has been dissolved the perfume. 



SOAP POWDERS. 

These preparations are sold sometimes as a dentrifice, 
and at others for shaving ; they are made by reducing 
the soap into shavings by a plane, then thoroughly dry- 
ing them in a warm situation, afterward grinding in a 
mill, then perfuming with any otto desired. 

Rypophagon Soap. — Best yellow soap, fig soft soap, 
equal parts melted together. Perfume with anise and 
citroneUa. 



472 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

AMBROSIAL CREAM. 

Color the grease very strongly with alkanet root, then 
proceed as for the manufacture of saponaceous cream. 
The cream colored in this way has a blue tint ; when it 
is required of a purple color, we have merely to stain the 
white saponaceous cream with a mixture of vermilion 
and smalt to the shade desired. Perfume with otto of 
oringeat. 

Transparent Soft Soap. — Solution caustic potash 
(Lond. Ph.), 6 lbs. ; olive oil, 1 lb. Perfume to taste. 

Before commencing to make the soap, reduce the 
potash lye to one half its bulk by continued boiling. 
Now proceed as for the manufacture of saponaceous 
cream. After standing a few days, pour off the waste 
liquor. 

Juniper Tar Soap. — This soap is made from the tar 
of the wood of the Juniperus communis, by dissolving it 
in a fixed vegetable oil, such as almond or olive oil, or in 
fine tallow, and forming a soap by means of a weak soda 
lye, after the customary manner. This yields a moder- 
ately firm and clear soap, which may be readily used 
by application to parts affected with eruptions, at night, 
mixed with a little water, and carefully washed off the 
following morning. This soap has lately been much 
used for eruptive disorders, particularly on the con- 
tinent, and with varying degrees of success. It is 
thought that the efficient element in its composition is 
a rather less impure hydro carburet than that known in 
Paris under the name '' huile de cade.''^ On account of 
its ready miscibility with water, it possesses great ad- 
vantage over the common tar ointment used for itch, etc. 

Salt Water Soap. — 5 lbs. caustic soda, 7 gallons of 
water for the lye ; 25 lbs. cocoa-nut oil or lard, as it is 
sometimes called ; melt the oil, and introduce the lye 
gradually, and stir actively until creamy. A very small 
proportion of fused Glauber salts helps to make the 
soap harden. 

Chlorinated Soap. — From castile soap (in powder), 11 
oz. ; chloride of lime (dry and good), 1 oz. ; mix, beat 
them to a mass with rectified spirit, q. s. ; holding in 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 473 

Bolntion oil of verbena or of ginger grass, i oz. ; lastly, 
form the mass into flat tablets, and wrap these in thin 
sheet gutta percha. A most excellent detergent and 
stimulant soap in various affections, admirably adapted 
for hospital use, and for removing stains from the skin 
and rendering it white. It is the most powerfully 
known agent against infection from contagious diseases 
communicated by contact. 

Iodine Soap. — From castilesoap (sliced) 1 lb. ; iodide 
of potassium, 1 oz. ; dissolved in water, 3 fl. oz. ; melt 
them together in a glass or porcelain vessel, over a water 
bath. Excellent in various skin diseases ; also as a com- 
mon soap for scrofulous subjects. 

Sulphur etted Soap. — From white soap, 2 oz. ; sublimed 
sulphur, \ oz. ; beaten to a smooth paste in a marble 
mortar with 1 or 2 fl. dr. of rectified spirit strongly 
colored with alkanet root, and holding in solution otto 
of roses, 10 or 12 drops. In itch and various other 
cutaneous diseases. 

Arsenical Soap. — From carbonate of potash, 12 oz. ; 
white arsenic, white soap and air-slaked lime, of each, 4 
oz. ; powdered camphor, f oz. ; made into a paste with 
water, q. s. Used to preserve the skins of birds and 
other small animals. 

Black Soap. — A crude soft soap, made of fish oil and 
potash ; but the following mixture is usually sold for it : 
Soft soap, 7 lb. ; train oil, 1 lb. ; water, 1 gallon ; boil 
to a proper consistence, adding ivory black or powdered 
charcoal, q. s. to color. Used by farriers. 



EMULSINES. 

From soaps proper we now pass to those compounds 
used as substitutes for soap, which are classed together 
under one general title as above, for the reason that all 
cosmetiques herein embraced have the property of form- 
ing emulsions with water. 

Chemically considered, they are an exceedingly in- 
teresting class of compounds, and are well worthy of 
study. Being prone to decomposition, as might be 
expected from their composition, they should be made 



474 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

only in small portions, or at least only in quantities to 
meet a ready sale. 

While in stock they should be kept as cool as possible, 
and free from a damp atmosphere. 

Amandine. — Fine almond oil, 7 lbs. ; simple syrup,* 
4 oz. ; white soft soap, or saponaceous cream, i. e., 
creme d^Amande,f 1 oz. ; otto of almonds, 1 oz. ; otto 
of bergamot, 1 oz. ; otto of cloves, -J- oz. Eub the syrup 
with the soft soap until the mixture is homogeneous, 
then rub in the oil by degrees ; the perfume having 
been previously mixed with the oil. 

In the manufacture of amandine (and olivine) the 
difficulty is to get in the quantity of oil indicated, with- 
out which it does not assume that transparent jelly ap- 
pearance which good amandine should have. To attain 
this end, the oil is put into ^'a runner, ^^ that is, a tin or 
glass vessel at the bottom of which is a small faucet and 
spigot, or tap. The oil being put into this vessel is 
allowed to run slowly into the mortar in which the 
amandine is being made, just as fast as the maker finds 
that he can incorporate it with the paste of soap and 
syrup ; and so long as this takes place, the result will 
always have a jelly texture to the hand. If, however, 
the oil be put into the mortar quicker than the work- 
man can blend it with the paste, then the paste becomes 
^^ oiled, ^^ and may be considered as " done for,'' unless, 
indeed, the whole process be gone through again, start- 
ing off with fresh syrup and soap, using up the greasy 
mass as if it were pure oil. This liability to "go off 
increases as the amandine nears the finish ; hence extra 
caution and plenty of '' elbow grease " must be used 
during the addition of the last two pounds of oil. If 
the oil be not perfectly fresh, or if the temperature of 
the atmosphere be above the average of summer heat, it 
will be almost impossible to get the whole of the oil 
given in the formula into combination ; when the mass 
becomes bright and of a crystalline luster, it will be 
well to stop the further addition of oil to it. 

* Simple syrup consists of 3 lbs. of loaf sugar, boiled for a minute in one 
pint, imperial, of distilled water, 
t It is made of lard and potash. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 475 

This and similar compounds should be potted as 
quickly as made, and the lids of the pots banded either 
with strips of tin-foil or paper, to exclude air. When 
the amandine is filled into the jars, the top or face of it 
is marked or ornamented with a tool made to the size 
of half the diameter of the interior of the jar, in a similar 
way to a saw ; a piece of lead or tortoise-shell, being 
serrated with an angular file, or piece of an " old saw,^^ 
will do very well ; place the marker on the amandine, 
and turn the jar gently round. 

Olivine. — Gum acacia, in powder, 2 oz. ; honey, 6 oz. ; 
yolk of eggs, in number, 5 ; white soft soap, 3 oz. ; olive 
oil, 2 lbs. ; green oil, 1 oz. ; otto of bergamot, 1 oz. ; otto 
of lemon, 1 oz. ; otto of cloves, ^ oz. ; otto of thyme 
and cassia, each, -J drachm. Rub the gum and honey 
together until incorporated, then add the soap and Qgg. 
Having mixed the green oil and perfumes with the olive 
oil, the mixture is to be placed in the runner, and the 
process followed exactly as indicated for amandine. 

Honey and Almond Paste. — (Pate d'Amande au 
Miel. ) — Bitter almonds, blanched and ground, ^ lb. ; 
honey, 1 lb. ; yolk of eggs, in number, 8 ; almond oil, 1 
lb. ; otto of bergamot, of cloves, each, ^ oz. Rub the 
eggs and honey together first, then gradually add the 
oil, and finally the ground almonds and the perfume. 

Almond Paste. — Bitter almonds, blanched and ground, 
1^ lb. ; rose-water, 1^ pint ; alcohol (60 o. p.), 16 oz. ; 
otto of bergamot, 3 oz. Place the ground almonds and 
one pint of the rose-water into a stewpan ; with a slow 
and steady heat, cook the almonds until their granular 
texture assumes a pasty form, constantly stirring the 
mixture during the whole time, otherwise the almonds 
quickly burn to the bottom of the pan, and impart to 
the whole an empyreumatic odor. 

The large quantity of otto of almonds which is vola- 
tilized during the process, renders it essential that the 
operator should avoid the vapor as much as possible. 

When the almonds are nearly cooked, the remaining 
water is to be added ; finally the paste is put into a 
mortar, and well rubbed with the pestle ; then the per- 
fume and spirit are added. Before potting this paste. 



476 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

as well as honey paste, it should be passed through a 
medium fine sieve, to insure uniformity of texture, es- 
pecially as almonds do not grind kindly. 

Other pastes, such as Pate de Pistache, Pate de Co- 
cos, Pate de Guimauve, are prepared in a similar man- 
ner to the above. 

Almond Meal. — Ground almonds, 1 lb. ; wheat flour, 
1 lb. ; orris-root powder, ^Ib. ; otto of lemon, ^ oz. ; otto 
of almonds, ^ drachm. 

Pistachio Nut Meal, or any otlier Nut. — Pistachio 
nuts (decorticated as almonds are bleached), 1 lb. ; orris 
powder, 1 lb. ; otto of neroli, 1 drachm ; otto of lemons 
\ oz. Other meals, such as perfumed oatmeal, perfumed 
bran, etc. , are occasionally in demand, and are prepared 
as the foregoing. 

All the preceding preparations are used in the lava- 
tory process as substitutes for soap, and to ^' render the 
skin pliant, soft and fair." 

Emulsin an Jasmin. — Saponaceous cream, 1 oz. ; sim- 
ple syrup, \\ oz. ; almond oil, 1 lb. ; best jasmine oil,|- lb. 

Emulsin a le Violette. — Saponaceous cream, 1 oz. ; 
syrup of violets, 1|- oz. ; best violet oil, 1^ lb. 

On account of the high price of the French oils, these 
preparations are expensive, but they are undoubtedly 
the most exquisite of cosmetiques. 

Shaving Paste. — Preparation 1. — Naples soap (gen- 
uine), 4 oz. ; powdered castile soap, 2 oz. ; honey, 1 
oz. ; essence of ambergris and oils of cassia and nut- 
megs, of each, 5 or 6 drops. 

2. White wax, spermaceti and almond oil, of each, ^ 
oz. ; melt, and while warm, beat in 2 squares of Windsor 
soap previously reduced to a paste with a little rosewater. 

3. White soft soap, 4 oz. ; spermaceti and salad oil, 
of each, -J- oz. ; melt them together, and stir until nearly 
cold. It may be scented at will. When properly pre- 
pared, these pastes produce a good lather with either hot 
or cold water, which does not dry on the face. The 
proper method of using them is to smear a minute quan- 
tity over the beard, and then to apply the wetted shav- 
ing brush, and not to pour water on them, as is the com- 
mon practice. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 477 



CANDY-MAKING. 



THE SHOP FKOISTT, Etc., Etc. 

It is not needful perhaps to dwell long upon the 
necessity of a candy-seller's shop having a neat and 
attractive appearance. This is so well understood 
that there is apt to be no want of care in regard to it. 
The scales and counter should be bright and clean ; 
the vessels containing the candies should be, if paper 
— of clean paper — and, if glass, they should show the 
care and attention of the shop-keeper in their bright 
outsides. 

Advertising is the great thing needed by the con- 
fectioner ; and whether he gets that by the position 
of his shop, where his goods may be seen of many 
without any effort on his part, or whether he chal- 
lenges the attention of the public by some device in 
his window, or by a series of catching signs, or by 
what has proved more effective than anything — the 
sight of a workman making candy in the pan, or pul- 
ling " Old-fashioned Molasses Candy " in full view of 
the public — all are only means of advertising, or of call- 
ing attention to his wares. The latter plan,' the work- 
man in full view, has proved the most certain means of 
attracting the public eye ; andwehavein remembrance 
at least two instances of firms having risen from the 
slender capital of a few dollars to a large wholesale 
trade by the use of this device. The public is curious 
about most mechanical operations, and people will stop 
to see almost anything done in the street or in full view 
of the passer-by, especially if the performance requires 
some particular knowledge. 



478 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Special candies have a large run in some localities. 
The candy-maker must watch evidences of favoi' and 
disfavor, and when he gets an inkling from the public 
that he is on the right road he must drive it. The 
fortunes that have been made out of Pease's Hoar- 
iiound, Brummel's Cough-drops, etc., etc., show how 
one can use a popular taste, weakness or predilection, 
:r whatever you would choose to call it. 

There is probably only one more precaution — give 
no inferior or stale goods. Having a proper situation, 
and with fair attention to business, there is no occupa- 
tion which holds out a better prospect of ample re- 
ward than that of the candy-maker. 

The profits of the candy-maker ought to be gener- 
ally not less than 100 per cent., and when the business 
is of the cheaper candies it should be more. That is, 
one dollar's worth of molasses and bicarbonate of 
soda should produce not less than two dollars' worth 
of candy when sold at retail. The dollar so gained 
is small enough to pay for the use of tools, rent, firing 
and labor of the candy-maker. 

By the exercise of a little ingenuity, the local 
candy-maker can often make a good show and in- 
crease his sales. Candies which he does not make he 
can buy in quantity, and put into handsome fancy 
boxes, which he can also buy from the box-maker. 
These generally sell well in the holiday season, though 
for the rest of the year, when people buy for them- 
selves and not for presents, they want candies without 
the addition of costly packages. They are then con- 
tent with the plain boxes made by the envelope-makers 
or the oiled paper now in use for all the molasses can- 
dies. 

This oiled paper can be made by any one. Take your 
paper cut to the size desired. Melt some lard, or, 
what is better, use sweet oil, and with a varnish brush 
go over one side of your paper lightly. Then lay it 
between unoiled sheets of the same paper, which 
you keep for this purpose. Keep on until all your 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 479 

paper has been oiled and put between the sheets kept 
for that purpose. Put away for five or six hours. 
When you take out your paper you will find that 
there is no loose oil to come off upon the fingers, and 
yet the candy will not adhere in the way which was 
formerly so wasteful and exasperating to the youthful 
buyer. Yery little oil should be usea. 



SUGAR BOILING FOR CANDY. 

SuaAB is boiled more or less according to the kind 
of candy to be made. A knowledge of what sugar 
boilers call the degrees of sugar boiling is necessary 
for some of the operations of candy-making. 

The sugar is always mixed with water, say in the 
proportions of 3 pints water to 7 pounds sugar. If 
the sugar is loaf sugar in any of its varieties it need 
not be clarified, but white, box or Havana sugar, 
Conlectioners' A, or any grade inferior to this, the 
sugar should be clarified, unless the color of the 
candy made is no object. 

1. DEGREE OR SMALL THREAD. 

The sugar and water being mixed, are brought to a 
heat of 215® by Farinheit's thermometer. The syrup 
is then smooth, slippery if a little is applied to the 
ball of the thumb, and if touched with the fore-finger 
it will pull out into a small thready which gives the 
name to it. 

2. When the syrup reaches 230® by the thermome- 
ter and the tkumb and fore-finger being used as be- 
fore, the thread becomes longer and the syrup clings 
more. This is the Large Thread. 

3 and 4. At 232° we have the Little Pearl, and at 
233* Large Pearl, which are really only Larger Thready 
and are tested as in the second degree. The threads 
pull out longer. For some of the operations of the 



480 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

confectioner it is useful to know these degrees of boil- 
ing, but for most of the work the first two degrees and 
the next three are sufficient. 

5. At 235® of the thermometer a skimmer or slice 
with holes in it, if dipped into the boiling sugar, 
drained and turned — liirted quickly by a turn of the 
wrist, or if blown upon by the breath, will show 
feathery films of sugar or bladders. This is called 
the Blow or Feather degree. 

6. At 240° of the thermometer the sugar becomes 
tough, and reaches the candy degree or " Ball." To 
see whether it is right, take out a little, dip quickly 
into cold water (ice-water, if possible), and try to roll 
it around between finger and thumb. If it balls 
readily and can be moved about between the fingers 
without adhering to them it has attained the '' Ball" 
degree, and is ready for any operations in which that 
degree is necessary. 

7. THE CRACK. 

This is reached when the thermometer shows the 
sugar to have reached a heat of 252°. Take out a 
little of the candy as before, dip into cold water and 
bite. If it crack short, it is ready. Take care not to 
leave the sugar on the fire while trying this, or you 
may boil your sugar too much. The " Crack " degree 
is perhaps more frequently used in confectionery than 
any other degree. 

8. CARAMEL, OR 260* BY THE THERMOMETER. 

This is shown by the sugar changing color and 
turning brown, or, as we commonly say, it is "burnt 
sugar." It is used in many operations beside that of 
the confectioner, beino^ made in large quantities for 
the use of " compounders " of brandies and '' amelio- 
rated " spirits of various kinds. In confectionery it is 
used for ornament mainly, etc. As soon as the sugar 
begins to turn brown, take the kettle from the fire 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 481 

and set the bottom into a pan of cold water to check 
the heat at once, or it will become unusable. 

We have given here the thermometer test as well as 
the practical and usual way of ascertaining the condi 
tion of the boiling sugar. For daily work, the best 
way is to try the syrup with the thumb and fore-linger 
jp to the '' Ball," and then with the cold water, as 
described. These methods are much quicker and less 
"messy "than it would be to have a thermometer. 
A. little practice will soon give the requisite skill. 



CLARIFYIJSTG SUGAR. 

Occasionally sugar made into candies, " creams " 
or syrup will need clarifying. This is readily ac- 
complished by the following process : 

Beat up well the white of an egg with a pint of 
water, and pour it into a clean brass or copper kettle. 
Then put into the kettle ten pounds sugar, mixed with 
a quart of water. Put on the stove and heat moder- 
ately until the scum rises. Remove the kettle and 
skim ofl* the top, then place on the fire again until the 
scum rises again. Then remove as before from the 
fire and skim again, and so continue until no scum 
rises. 

This recipe is for good brown or yellow sugar ; for 
soft white sugars, half the white of an egg will do ; 
and for refined or loaf sugar a quarter will do. The 
quantities of sugar and water are the same in all cases. 
Loaf sugar will generally do for all candy-making 
without further clarification. When clarification is 
needed it will be pointed out in each recipe. 

Where the blood of beef cattle is obtainable, it can 
be used instead of the white of eggs. But this would 
be only a question of economy, either of time or 
money. The eggs are, on the whole, more convenient. 
Blood is used in the proportion of half a gill to ter 



482 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

pounds of sugar. It is mixed with a half pint of 
water and put in the boiling kettle before putting in 
the sugar, which is diluted with water, as before 
described, and heated and skimmed as mentioned be- 
fore. "Animal charcoal," also called " bone black" 
and '' ivory black," aids the operation if a very nice 
sparkling sugar is desired. If bone black is used, the 
syrup must be filtered through a filtering bag of fian- 
nel or felt. The filtering is repeated until the syrup 
runs off quite clear. But in all small operations the 
white of egg is sufficient. The bone black is used in 
the proportion of one ounce to every pound of sugar. 
A little less will answer the purpose very well, how- 
ever. 



SUGAKS USED. 

Brown or Yellow sugars are used for caramels, 
dark-colored cocoanut, taffee and pulled molasses can- 
dies generally, in combination with molasses, 

Havana or Box sugar is the cheapest grade of white 
sugar. It is but one remove from the brown. 

Confectioners' A is superior in color and grain to 
the Havana. It is a centrifugal sugar — that is, it is 
not reboiled to procure its white color, but is moist- 
ened with water and then put into rapidly revolving 
cylinders. The uncrystalized .syrup or molasses is 
whirled out of it, and the sugar comes out with a dry 
white grain. 

Icing or Powdered Sugars. — This is powdered loaf 
sugar. Icing can only be made with powdered sugar, 
which is produced by grinding or crushing loaf sugar 
as fine as flour nearly. 

Granulated Sugar. — This is a coarse-grained sugar, 
generally very clean and sparkling, and fit for use as 
a colored sugar in crystalized goods and other suoerior 
uses. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 483 

Crushed Loaf Sugar and Chopped Lump. —These 

are double refined loaf sugars, both the same in qual- 
ity, exx^ept that one is broken between rollers and the 
other cut or chopped into cubes. They are fi.t for the 
best work of the candy-maker, but are no better than 
the granulated sugar as made in New York. 



GLUCOSE— GKAPE SUGAK. 

Glucose is now used by nearly all large candy 
manufacturers. It is a sugar made by pouring sul- 
phuric acid (diluted) upon starch, and afterward neu- 
tralizing or ''killing" the free acid with chalk or 
powdered lime, which falls to the bottom. The re- 
sult is a sugar or thick syrup similar to honey, or the 
sugar found in grapes. 

It is considered by many that if the acid is all killed 
by the chalk or lime, that this glucose or grape sugar 
is harmless, while others, and among them many 
physicians, think that it increases the tendency to dia- 
betes, a distressing disease supposed to be caused by 
an excess of grape sugar in the blood. Whether this 
is so or not, confectioners generally use glucose in 
candy-making for two reasons : it gives the hard 
boiled candies a clear appearance, and it costs only 
half the price of cane sugar. The proportions for 
using are, to every live pounds cane sugar one pound 
glucose. We omit it from our recipes, partly because 
of the doubt as to its wholesomeness, and partly be- 
cause the goods made by its aid are really not so sweet 
and delicate in flavor as if made of all cane sugar. It 
is, however, used in all the cheap candies. 



CKYSTALIZING. 

This is an operation only needed in finishing some 
confectioners' productions, such as gum-drops, brandy- 



484 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Jrops, etc., and fruits. The mode of operation is 
this: The crjstalizing syrup is sugar that is boiled a 
little below " large thread" — that is, brought to a heat 
of about 223° to 225® Farinheit, and kept there a 
minute or so. This syrup is then allowed to cool. 
The objects to be crystalized are placed on a netting 
of wire, within anj^ convenient vessel, and the cooled 
Bvrnp poured over them. They are left in the syrup 
about twenty-four hours, taking one out to see how the 
work is proceeding every hour or two. The vessel 
containing the syrup is put into' the "stove," or dry- 
ing-room, or within the screen (see Stove). When the 
crystalizing has gone far enough to make the outside 
of the drops or fruits have a sparkling appearance, the 
netting is lifted out, adhering syrup knocked off, a 
little shake given the goods, and then they are put 
into the drying-room again for an hour or two. In 
large operations, vessels are prepared which will hold 
succeeding sheets of netting one over the other, close 
enough together to allow the syrup to cover the 
articles completely. The syrup may be used more 
than once, but will need renewing, of course. The 
crystalizing vessel should be covered with a damp 
cloth — to prevent a pellicle or skin forming over the 
syrup. 

The explanation of the process is, that a portion of 
the sugar in the syrup dries or crystalizes on the 
articles suspended in it. These crystals, as all crystals 
do, have a shiny look, and give the candies a bright 
aUractive frosting of sugar, which is very alluring to 
the eye. 



IMITATION CKYSTALIZING. 

Many of the descriptions of drops sold are sold as 
crystallized goods without being so. The process is 
very simple. Sift them well, put them into a large 
clean pan; have ready a rather weak solution of clear 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 485 

gum water, in which dip jour right hand, and with 
the gum water that clings to it work over the drops. 
When they are all equally wet, but only slightly so, 
spread over them, according to quantity, granulated 
sugar, shake them up with this two or three minutes, 
put them into trays in the stove t dry ; when dry, 
sift them. 

COLOKS. 

Foe all purposes, it is better for the candy-maker to 
purchase his colors ready made, as they cannot, on the 
small scale, be produced any cheaper than they can be 
bought of large makers. The colors should be veget- 
able, for it is no doubt true, that mineral colors, 
merely from the fact of their being mineral, are harm- 
ful, though in some cases not actually poisonous. 
An aline colors, though very bright, should be care- 
fully avoided. They are all dangerous, although their 
evil influences cannot be traced. The French govern- 
ment, which is careful of the health of its citizens and 
the reputation of its manufactured products, allows 
for the use of confectioners — 

Indigo, 

Prussian Blue, y For Blue. 

Ultramarine, 

Cochineal, 

Carmine, \- For Bed. 

Carmine Lake, 

Saffron. 



Yellow. 



French Berries, 
Persian, 
Turmeric, 
Fustic, J 

A mixture of one ^| 
of the Yellows ( p 
and one of the f^^®^"' 
Blues, J 



486 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

The ultrariiarine, we have no doubt, is hurtful, as it 
is an indigestible substance, lying inert in the stomach, 
but few French people indulge in prettilj-colored 
candies. These handsome goods are mainly intended 
for exportation. Of the vegetable colors in the 
market, we believe those of the English makers, W. 
J. Bush & Co., to be quite innocent and brilliant 
enough for the candy-maker's use. These colors can 
be purchased of most druggists and supply houses. 

If, however, the candy-maker desires to experiment 
in making his own red — the most frequently used color 
•' — he may put into a clean copper or porcelain sauce- 
pan one-qnarter pound cochineal in powder, with 3 
pints of water ; allow to boil ; add 2 ounces alum in 
powder or cracked small very gradually, and stir. 
Boil a minute or two ; add gradually 2 ounces pow- 
dered soda ; boil again a couple of minutes, and keep 
stirring. Finally, add one-quarter pound cream of 
tartar ; boil two or three minutes more, and strain 
through a fine hair seive or coarse clean muslin. The 
latter is not good for a strainer, as it takes up so much 
of the color. Set away in a tightly-corked bottle for 
use. If this color touches tin or iron it will turn 
brown. 

. For yellow, safiron, French or Persian berries may 
be boiled or infused like tea, and boiled down until it 
is of the required shade. 

Blue can be thus prepared : In a stoneware jar of 3 
gallons capacity, put a quart, or about two pounds and 
a half of sulphuric acid. To this add powdered indigo 
gradually, stirring all the while with a glass rod until 
the whole forms a pasty mass. It will require about 
a quarter pound of indigo. The jar should stand in 
a pan of cold water, as the mixing develops much 
heat and swells very much while going on. Avoid 
breathing the fumes. After thorough mixture, allow 
to stand an hour or more, to insure perfect solution of 
the blue. Then fill the jar with cold water, and stir 
around with the rod. Keep this two or three hours. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 487 

Then pour it out into a glass jar of the same size. 
Now crack up some common potash and drop it in 
small lumps into the blue water. This potash takes 
up the sulphuric acid, and leaves the blue in fine par- 
ticles drop to the bottom. Keep adding potash as 
long as the blue continues to fall ; when no more 
blue particles fail, stop adding the potash and let the 
mixture rest an hour or two, and then pour off the 
waste. The bottom will be your blue coloring, which 
can be dried for use. Kef)t in an air-tight jar, it will 
remain good for an indefinite period. It mixes with 
water in any proportion. In the proportion in which 
it would be used to color confectionery it is harmless, 
no ill efiect having yet been traced to it, though indigo 
itself is a medicine of decided character. The blue is 
somewhat muddy when used in candy. 

Green, as already stated, may be made of the blue 
and yellow mixed — purple, of the red and blue mixed. 
Brown may be made of hurnt sugar, so called, or car- 
amel, which is sugar boiled until it assumes a dark- 
brown color. By mixing this with water, all shades 
of . brown may be made. Mixing chocolate with 
water will also give a good brown. 

Black is ivory or bone charcoal, ground fine and 
mixed with a little gum arable. It is used in the 
candy as well as on it — that is, toy candies are some- 
times painted with it, mixed with syrup. The animal 
charcoal is harmless entirely either w^ay. 

But we repeat again, it is generally cheaper to buy 
any of the colors required, wherever there is a druggist 
convenient. 

The color is mixed by many on the slab of marble 
or iron just after the candy is poured out on the slab. 
For this purpose, the colors should be rubbed up with 
good sweet oil to about the consistency of paint or 
cream. Oil assimilates readily with the candy. A 
sufficient quantity of the color having been taken 
(and this must be a matter of judgment and practice), 
it is worked into the hot candy with the palette (large) 



i88 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

knife and by doubling and rolling the candy. In 

some candies like the various named " Rocks " (not 
that usually called Rock Candy)^ which consists often 
of a basis of pulled yellow or white candy, with a cover- 
ing or skin of colored candy, the method is as fol- 
lows : 

The first and larger part of the boil is poured out 
upon the slab, and a small portion of the boil is left 
in the pan. The color is added to this latter portion, 
worked around with the palette knife, and placed where 
it will just retain its heat for a little while. The can- 
dy on the slab is then taken up^ pulled as quickly as 
possible, and laid or coiled down again on the slab ; 
the colored candy in the pan is heated for about one 
minute and poured over the white, pouring rather 
slowly so as to let it cool and set on the outside of the 
white. In such cases the white candy is not always 
pulled, but is often left simply boiled. 

Another plan for " casing " candy, as this operation 
is sometimes called, is to prepare the uncolored candy 
on the slab and put it into the shape required, leaving 
a portion with a little color in the pan, as in the pre- 
ceding operation. Then pour out the colored candy 
on the slab, and when it is cooled a little, with an oiled 
rolling-pin flatten out into a sheet of the required 
thickness. This sheet is then laid upon or around the 
uncolored candy as may be required. The two, if 
still sufficiently warm, will adhere, and can then be 
worked into any shape desired. If they do not stick 
to each other, the top of the clear candy may be 
moistened with a brush or sponge lightly, after which 
put in the colored sheet the heat of the sugar drying 
out the water. 

TOOLS. 

The tools of the candy maker who works on the 
email scale, and on some of the most popular goods, 
too, may be quite few and simple. An ordinary range 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



489 



fire, a brass or copper kettle, always kept very clean, 
and the tin pans to contain the common kinds of 
candy, are sufficient for a certain trade. To pull 
candy a large hook (see modes of working), conve- 




1.— Swing Pan. 

niently placed about the height of the eyes, is needed ; 
and stick or ornamented candies cannot be made 
without a slab or marble upon which to work them. 

In addition to all this, there is wanted a long knife 

to divide the candies into convenient sizes for selling. 

. But when the trade becomes a little larger, it ia 



490 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



^,ir?eaper to have regular confectioners' tools and ma* 
■yfT-iTi pry. A few of these tools we shall describe. 




2. — Furnace. 




3.— REVOLVl^-a Fai? 



THE HOaiE MECHANIC. 



491 




4.— Batch Pan. 

First, perhaps, in order is the Furnace. This, as now 
made (fig. 2), has the lid made in several rings, so that 
the amount of heat can be increased or diminished at 
pleasure. 





5. — Mint Droppers. 



Then next comes the Swing Pan (fig. 1). This is 
swung upon two chains attached to a swivel, so as to 
admit a peculiar motion while over the fire, when de- 




6.— HOARHOUND CUTTEB, 



sirable to sugar burnt almonds, or to do other pan work 
The motion is backward and upward. Cost, $6 to $12, 



492 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 




7. — CocoANUT Geater, Large. 



There is also an Oscillating Pan, moved by ma- 
chinery, which imitates the motion of the hands, and 
Revolving Pan, both of which are calculated to do 




8. — COCOANUT GrRATER, SmALL. 

the same kind of work. The first is arranged to be 
kept b^t as well as to be moved by steam, and is, oi 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



course, only available in large works. The second 
can be used by hand, the pan extending over the lire. 




9. — Lemon Drop Cutter. 



The Batch Pan is a kettle with a handle, and ig 
used to boil the sugar in, or to keep the boiled sugar 
hot, for use in other operations at the pan. Price, $6 
to $10. Usual size, 12 in. diameter ; 11 to 12 deep. 




10.— Plait MACHmK. 



IH 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 



49- 



The Tot Pan is made to pour boiled sugar prop- 
erly prepared into moulds of toys. $3.50 to $4.50. 
Size, one-half s^allon to one gallon. 

The Mint Dropper is made double and single. It is 




13.— Candy Tongs. 

used for making mint and chocolate drops, and any 
similar operations. $2 to $3.50. 

HoARHOTJND AND Caramel Cutters savo much time 
in dividing the candies into convenient sizes for sale. 




14, — ^Almond Peeler. 

They are made in two styles, with movable knives 
and with fixed divisions. Those with fixed knives are 
like illustration fig. 6, and cost $5, while those with 
movable cutters cost $7. The former have the knives 



496 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

arranged at distances of one-half, five-eighths, three- 
fourths, seven-eighths, one inch, one and one-quarter, 
one and one-half, one and three-quarters and two 
inches. 

CocoAmiT Candies are so popular that when well 




15. — ^ToY CuTTiNa Machine. 



made in a populous neighborhood the trade soon 
becomes so large that it becomes sheer waste to grate 
the nut bj hand. It is then that the 

CocoANUT Cutter or G-rater becomes an economical 
inyestment. These range in price from $16 to $160, 




16. — Paper Fringek, 

the latter with steam fixtures for large works. The 
same machine, arranged only for hand power, costs 
$75, and will grate seventy-five nuts per hour. The 
smaller machines, at from $16 to $22, will fully meet 
the wants of a moderate business. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 497 

Lemon Drop Cutters run in price from $13 to $40. 
Their use is obvious, and the difference in price is 
caused by a variation in the device for drops of a fancy 
or peculiar shape. 

The Plait Machine. — By passing flat candy strips, 
finished up to the proper point, through this machine, 
it gives it all the appearance of having been plaited, 
which, in the eyes of many consumers of sweets, is 
quite a desirable quality. 

Ball Gutters. — This is a hand machine for making 
what in some places are known as Jackson balls, in 
others as bull's eyes, according to the fancy of the 
locality. The machines, with all improvements, cost 
$15. The diameter of the ball may be varied from 
thirteen-sixteenths of an inch to one and one-eighth, 
and the size desired must be given when ordering the 
machine. 

The Candy CumNa Machine is used for cutting 
cocoanut strips and other mixed fruit and nut candies. 
They are made rather too large for any but a lively 
business, the smallest costing $80, and the largest 
$300. 

The Candy Tongs are used for cutting the candy 
into convenient pennyworths in small establishments. 
They cost $2. 

The Almond Peeler saves considerable labor. One 
warranted to peel forty pounds of almonds per hour 
costs $25. 

The Toy Cutting Machine. — This is one in which 
figures are impressed upon a cylinder. It cuts candy 
into forms of animals, etc., with great rapidity. Costs 
from $40 upward, and is a great labor saver, but is of 
use mainly to those who sell by wholesale ; few re- 
tailers can sell candy toys enough to make it worth 
while to run a machine. 

Besides these machines, there are others which 
either facilitate the production of candy or are abso- 
lutely necessary to special shapes or patterns. 

There are moulds for toys made by hand, etc., etc. 



498 THE HOME MECHANIC, 

These can all be found at the stores of firms who make 
a business of supplying every kind of machine needed 
by the confectioner, while other houses supply him 
with all the smaller matters, in the way of fancy paper, 
mottoes, plaster moulds, etc., etc., etc. 

Among the useful things for even a small wholesale 
trade is a 

Paper FEiNGma Machine.— This costs about $20, 
and will be found to save quite a good deal of time in 
the course of the year. 



FLAYOES. 

Generally it is most convenient and economical 
to purchase the essences required for flavoring. Es- 
sceuce of peppermint, indeed, can be obtained in no 
other way, as the business of distillation is a distinct 
profession. Yanilla, clove, cinnamon and lemon may 
be prepared as follows : 

Yanilla. — Crack up two ounces of vanilla, and put 
it into a wide-mouthed bottle, which will hold nearly 
a quart. Pour over the vanilla a pint and a half of 
alcohol, of the kind called " Cologne Spirits." This 
kind of alcohol is free of flavor, is of nearly uniform 
strength, and is for sale by all apothecaries. Cork 
the bottle, give it a good shake, and put it away. 
Give it a shake once or twice a day, for a week. Then 
filter into another clean bottle, for use. Keep tightly 
corked. This will make an essence costing about 
$2.50 for the pint and half, but it will be much 
stronger than the purchased article. If you desire to 
weaken it, put in more alcohol. 

Clove and cinnamon essence are made in the same 
way. Essence of lemon is made by grating off the 
yellow portion of five or six good-sized lemons — the 
white is no good — the essential oil of the lemon re- 
siding in the yellow outside. Take this part so grated 
off, and pour over it a pint and a half of " Cologne 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 499 

Spirits." Let it remain a few days, and filter for 
use. 

All these flavors, and occasionally some others, like 
rose water, are used in candy-making. Rose essence 
must be purchased. Usually about seven drops to a 
seven pound boil are amply sufficient. But this is a 
matter that must be left to the candy-makers' experi- 
ence, as much depends upon the strength of the mate- 
rial which he is using. It is better to under-flavor 
the first time than to overdo it. 

The essences are applied to the candy after it is 
poured upon the slab. A little hole is made into the 
middle of the candy, the flavor poured in, and the 
candy doubled over. The candy is then worked and 
the flavor rapidly penetrates to all of its parts. If ap- 
plied in the boiling-pan the essence would boil away 
for the most part — in other words, it would simply 
waste. 



THE STOYE. 

This is a drying-room or closet called " stove " by 
the professional confectioners. It is needed in finish- 
ing some goods, and is heated by waste heat from the 
main fire, or contains a small furnace or wood stove. 
In large works steam heat is used, and in small estab- 
lishments a three-sided screen is put near the fire, the 
fourth side being toward the fire. This retains suffi- 
cient heat for many purposes, and, indeed, for all 
which a small business requires. The heat required 
varies for difibrent goods. Burnt almonds, lozenges, 
etc., require 80**, and brandy gum drops 100**. Regu- 
lar candies 100°. 



MODES OF WORKING. 

In the ordinary candies made in the pan and kept 
flat, there is not much room for ingenuity or the dis- 



500 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

play xji skill. All that is wanted is careful observation 
of the right degree of boiling and neatness in putting 
the goods into such shape as to give them an agreeable 
appearance. 

Flat sticks of one color are made by simply pouring 
out upon the slab, and when sufficiently cool they are 
rolled with a rolling-pin to the required thickness, and 
then creased with a palette-knife or the hoarhound 
cutter (running oulj one way). Round sticks of the 
same kind are made by taking a convenient por- 
tion and rolling it into first a thick round body, and 
then rolling it thinner and thinner until of the required 
diameter, when it is cut off by a sharp knife. Plaited 
or pattern candies must be made in a machine such as 
described under the head of tools. 

Striping requires experience. The colored sugar 
for stripes is prepared as described under colors, the 
uncolored sugars being rolled into a thick roll. If the 
stripes are straight, they are laid along this roll quite 
straight, and then rolled out thin to the required size; 
but if they run around the stick like the colors around 
a barber's pole, the stripes are first laid upon the slab 
in a diagonal or bias direction, while the uncolored 
candy is rolled straight backward from the workman, 
the left hand of the uncolored roll beginning upon the 
end of the stripes nearest the workman. When the 
end is reached the stripes will be running spirally 
around the uncolored candy. The whole is then 
rolled out thin, as before described. The stripes are 
prepared from the colored candy by pouring out on 
the slab, rolling out and cutting into strips of the 
proper size. Take care, as before said, that these 
stripes are much larger than they are to be finally. 
The rolling out will reduce tiiem. 

Candies marked on their interior with words and 
devices are made by first forming a core of uncolored 
candy, then placing around it the device required, 
larger than the intended size, and finally casing this 
with more uncolored candy. The whole is then rolled 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 501 

out to the required size. Tiie formation of letters, 
words, stars, etc., in the interior of candy sticks is all 
managed in this way, and its success depends entirely 
upon the ingenuity and mechanical skill of the work- 
man- 
Flat stripe sticks are of course easily made, as the 
striping can be laid on a thick mass of uncolored 
candy, which is then rolled out as thin as required, 
and divided up into sticks. A variation of this work 
is seen in the twisted candies. This twist generally 
consists of one turn of the wrist, holding each end of 
the stick between the forefinger and thumb of each 
hand. It is rapidly and easily done. 

All these operations are conducted while the candy is 
of the consistence of stiff dough, require dexterity and 
experience, the hands being kept oiled with sweet oil. 
Candy-pulling, which is necessary to whiten some 
candy, and to make it tender also, may be done by 
the hand (well oiled with sweet oil or butter) when 
the quantity is small, or on a large hook placed at the 
height of the eye. The hook should be a blunt one 
and large enough to admit rolls of four or five inches in 
diameter with ease. The workman rolling up his 
candy upon the slab so as to be in convenient form 
for throwing upon this hook, throws it up, and catch- 
ing both ends gently pulls the candy toward himself, 
he being some three and a half or four feet from the 
hook. As the candy lengthens out as far as is safe, 
he brings l)oth hands together and throws back over 
the hook the doubled strand of candy, so to speak, 
which he has just pulled out. This is continued until 
the candy is white enough, when it is taken off the 
hook and formed into such shape on the slab or other- 
wise as is desired. Frequently pulled candies are 
simply taken off the hook and coiled down upon or 
into an oiled pan. Sometimes they are cased with a 
red candy, which is put over them after thej^ are pulled 
and coiled away. These are called Rocks^ and are 
spoken of elsewhere. 



502 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



This candy-pulling is intricate in description, but 
is perfectly simple in operation, and it would not take 
any one any length of time to acquire the knack having 
once seen it. 




17. — Candy Pulling. 

MOLASSES CANDIES. 

These are the easiest to make. They can be pro- 
duced at a very low cost, and ihey sell readily, es- 
pecially to the juvenile population. 

1. Old-Fashioned Molasses Candy. — This is made 
of West India molasses — in otlier words of the poorer 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 503 

molasses, as there is a flavor about this kind of mo- 
lasses when boiled which is in itself an attractive 
quality. But it can be made of New Orleans mo- 
lasses, or Sugar-House drips, or coffee sugar, if 
desired. 

Into an eight-quart kettle put two quarts of molasses 
and boil over a slack fire from twenty -five to thirty- 
five minutes. Test it after it has boiled twenty 
minutes by taking some out on the end of a clean 
splinter or spoon, and dipping it into cold water. If it 
harden quickly and break short between the teeth it 
is boiled enough. This is *' boiling to the crack" 
When the molasses is boiled to this point, put 
in a teaspoonful of baking soda, and stir it all well, 
and pour it out into oiled or buttered tins. If you 
are making a larger quantity, pour upon a marble slab. 
When somewhat cooled, take up the candy with 
your hnnds well buttered or oiled, and pull and double- 
pull and double, and so on until the candy is white. 
Small quantities can be pulled simply in the hands, 
but large quantities are thrown over a strong hook, 
the candy pulled, doubled, and the two strands so made 
thrown back continuously by a dextrous motion until 
it is white, or whitish yellow at any rate, in which 
condition it is old fashioned molasses candy. (See 
modes of working.) 

2. Yellow Jack. — This is now out of fashion in 
many parts of the country, but is still a favorite in out 
of the way places. It is only " Old Fashioned Mo- 
lasses Candy " cut in strips and rolled or twisted. 
Sometimes it is made by boiling about one quarter as 
much sugar, separately, to the crack, (see Sugar-Boil- 
ing), pouring it on over the pulled molasses cand}^, cut- 
ting it into strips when cool enough, and twisting up. 

3. Another Molasses Candy (White). — 
4 lbs. light brown sugar. 

1 quart West India molasses. Boil to the crack, 
and test by cold water as before. Add a teaspoon- 



504 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ful of baking soda. Pull on tlie hook, or if in small 
quantity between the liands, nutil it is white. 

This can be made still more white by using white 
sugar (Havana, granulated or confectioners' A). 

4. Molasses Candy, Soft Boiled. — 

1 quart molasses. 

1 oz. butter. 

1 teaspoonful baking soda. 

1 drop lemon essence. 

Boil to the hall. Put on ice in summer to cool suffi- 
ciently to cut and pack in prepared (oiled) paper. 

5. EVEETON TaFFEY. 

Sugar (light brown), 1 lb. 
Butter, 2 oz. 
Water, ^ gill. 

Boil sugar and water to the ball^ then add the butter 
and boil to the crack. Add live drops essence of 
lemon ; stir quickly, and pour into oiled or buttered 
tin pans, square. Divide the taffey before quite cool 
with knife or hoarhound cutter. (Oiling pans is best 
done with good varnish brush ; oil lightly, but thor- 
oughly.) 

6. Another Taffey. — 

"West India molasses, 2 quarts. 
Butter, 4 oz. 

Boil to the crack ; add the butter ; boil a few mo- 
ments more ; add ten drops of any essence desired ; 
stir, and pour into oiled tins. 

7. Ginger Taffey. — 
Granulated sugar, 7 lbs. 
Cream tartar, ^ oz. 
Water, 3 pints. 

Boil to the crack ; add extract of ginger half tea- 
spoonful ; stir, and pour into oiled pan. 

8. Raspberry Taffey. — Sugar, cream tartar and 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 505 

water as above. Boil to the crack, and add ^ lb. 
raspberry jam ; stir and boil again to the- crack, and 
pour out into oiled pans. 

9. Butter Scotch. — 

2 lbs brown sugar. 
Yz lb butter. 

Boil to the crack ; add teaspoonful of baking soda ; 
stir, and pour into oiled pans. Mark to the size re- 
quired before quite cool. When done crack apart 
with a light tap, and wrap into separate papers. 

10. DoNCASTER Butter Scotch. — 

Sugar house syrup, 1 quart. 

Loaf sugar, 1 lb. 

Butter, 1 lb. 
Boil to crack the molasses, sugar and butter ; stir, 
and pour out, roll. Taffey and butter scotch should 
always be thin, not over one-fourth inch in thickness; 
thinner is better. 



11. WALI^UT CANDY. 

The kernels of black walnuts being extracted and 
shaken about in a seive to clear them of their skins as 
much as possible, put them into a batch pan and pour 
over them sufficient molasses or sugar boiled as in No. 
5 cr 6 (taffey), or as in No, 1, to cover them. Stir 
thoroughly, and pour into square pans an inch or an 
inch and a half deep. Allow to cool nearly, when it 
should be divided into strips with a long heavy knife, 
oiled, or a cocoanut candy cutter. No flavor. 



12. PEANUT OE GROUND NUT (GOOBER 
PEAS) CANDY. 

The peanuts should be fresh roasted and then tossed 
in a seive to free them of tlieii* inner skins. Then pro 
ceed as for walnut candy (No. 11). 



506 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

18. Another Peanut. — First remove the shell from 
the kernel ; toss the latter in a seive, and then boil 
them with siifScient molasses or sugar ; boil as in 5 or 
6 to tJie crack. Remove and pour into moulds. 

14. Almond Taffey. — Remove the outer shells of 
sweet almonds, scald the kernels, and remove the skin 
upon them by slipping them off with the fingers ; chop 
them coarsel3^ Then fill paus, oiled with, sweet oil, or 
buttered ; level up and proceed as in No. 11. Almond 
Taffey is not usually made so thick as peanut and 
walnut, and the price charged is higher. 

15. Almond Taffey (another). — Proceed as before, 
but add the chopped almonds lo the boiling syrup ; 
boil a few moments more, until it comes again to the 
crack, and pour. No flavors are to be added. 



16. POP CORN CAKE. 

Pop Corn Cake is made by chopping the popped 
and salted corn to the required size, spreading it 
even in a pan, and pouring on it a thin hot syrup; 
mixed thoroughly with the hand or a wooden paddle 
and leveled up to a thickness of one and a half to two 
inches. When cooled it is flattened out by pressure. 
For a small trade this could be done in a family cider 
press or a clothes wringer, set wide. It is a little diffi- 
cult to chop the popped corn, and for manufacturers 
a machine is used, which does it rapidly. 



ir. POP CORN BALLS. 

The corn, being popped and salted, and kept as 
warm as possible, sprinkle over with a whisk broom a 
mixture composed of an ounce of gum arable and a 
half pound of sugar, dissolved in two quarts of water, 
and boiled a few minutes. Stir the corn with the 
hands or a paddle thoroughly ; then mould into balls 
with the hands. This makes a good, white ball. If 



THE HOME MECHANIC. S07 

desired, a red tint may be given by sprinkling with a 
solution of carmine to the mixture, after it has been 
balled. 

18. Pop Corn Balls, No. 2. — Pour over the warm 
popped and salted corn the boiled sugar or molasses, 
boiled to the thread ; not to cover it but a little 
at a time, stirring the corn, which should be kept 
warm, until it is in a condition to stick together, when 
moulded by the hands. No flavor should be added in 
this mixture, as the excellence of this commodity de- 
pends entirely upon the united flavor of the corn, salt, 
and the sugar or molasses. 



19. FIG PASTE. 

Most of the Fig Paste sold is only corn starch sweet- 
ened, and rolled in powdered sugar. The mode of 
manufacture is to mix one-quarter pound of the starch 
with enough cold water to moisten thoroughly, and 
then to pour hot water thereon, and set upon the fire 
until it flows thick and clear. At this stage the sugar 
is added — one pound of confectioners' or any other 
white sugar, and it is flavored sometimes with a very 
faint taste of musk or oil of rose, to carry out the idea 
that it is a Turkish confection, which, indeed, it is, 
for the fig paste sold in the streets of Constant] ncj^^le 
is often no more. In other cases the pulp of figs is 
boiled separately for fifteen minutes, and is then 
strained througn a coarse cloth and added to the hot 
starch. The seeds and skin of the figs must, of course, 
be thrown away, as the beauty of this confection is in 
its smoothness. Genuine fig paste, which is really 
not much superior to the imitation, either in consis- 
tence or flavor, is made by boiling any quantity of 
a^i, split open, in sufiicient water to cover them, for 
fifteen minutes or more ; straining, adding sugar in the 
proportion of three pounds of sugar to everj^ pint of 
the fior fluid. Set the dish or kettle into another con- 



508 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

taining water (like a glue boiler or farina kettle'), and 
set on the fire. When the mass has thickened, by tlie 
escape of the water, to the consistency of molasses, 
pour into one large, square mould, oiled. After it has 
cooled and hardened, remove and cut into cakes, an 
inch each way. Roll them in powdered sugar. In 
fig paste white sugar must always be used. The paste 
is often colored a faint carmine. 



20. CARAMELS. 

6 lbs. sugar. 

1 lb. glucose. 

1 quart milk. 

i lb. butter. 

^ lb. chocolate dissolved in pint of water. 

Boil to the crack and pour out on the slab. Divide 
into squares when nearly cold.. 



21. CHOCOLATE CARAMELS (No. 2, Superio 

1 lb. sugar, granulated or Havana. 
J^ lb. chocolate. 

}i pint cream. 

2 oz. butter. 
j4 pint water. 

Put the sugar and water in a kettle that wi 
allow for the fluid swelling; when it comes to a boij 
gradually put in the cream, then stir in the butter, anc 
finally the chocolate dissolved in a little water; whei 
it is at the crack pour out into shallow plate or on the 
slab, and mark out with knife or cutter. The choco 
late may be grated or it may be of the cliocolatt 
liquor sold for the purpose by the manufacturers oi 
chccolate. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 509 

22. CHOCOLATE CAEAMELS (No. 3). 

Boil 2 quarts of West India molasses to the crack ; 
when nearly done add 8 oz. granulated chocolate ; stii 
thoroughly, and pour out into oiled or buttered tins. 
When nearly cool mark off into small squares with a 
knife or caramel mould. 

23. Maple Sugar Caramels. — 

5 lbs. yellow sugar. 
5 lbs. maple sugar. 
1 pint of cream. 
^ lb. butter. 
1 qt. water. 

Boil the sugar and water to the crack; add the 
cream, and boil up again to the crack ; then add the 
butter, and bring once more to the crack. Pour out, 
and divide as usual. 

24. CocoANUT Caramels. — 

^ lb. grated cocoanut (the dessicated article will 

be found most convenient generally). 
1 oz. flour. 
3 eggs (white of). 
^ lb. sugar. 

Soak the cocoanut, if dessicated, in milk enough to 
cover it. Then beat up the white of the eggs, add the 
sugar and flour, and finally stir in the cocoanut. Bake 
in a moderate heat about twenty minutes. It will be 
perceived that this is more like a cocoanut icing, but it 
is called cocoanut caramel, being divided in the same 
way. 

25. EvERTON Tatfet Caramels. — ^These consist of 
two pieces of everton tafi'ey, with a portion of cream 
between them. The cream is that made in 26 — Choco- 
late Creams. The article is not a caramel, but — "any- 
thing for a name." 



510 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

26. CHOCOLATE CEEAM DEOPS. 

These are easily made, popular and proiitable. The 
first requisite in their manufacture is the production of 
the cream, or interior portion of the hon-hon. }n 
small establishments, where sugar-boiling is not usually 
done, and in which some of the tools may be lacking, 
the following method of making the cream is pursued : 

1. A quarter of a pound of picked gum arabic is 
dissolved in half a pint of Lot water, and as much 
icing sugar, sifted through muslin, added as will make 
a stiffish paste or dough, which should be worked 
thoroughly, but with a light hand, and flavored with 
vanilla. 

2. A second method is to make the cream of white 
of eggs and icing sugar, sifted, and water, omitting 
the gum. The proportions are : Whites of six eggs ; 
one gill of water ; beat up well, and mix with the 
sugar, flavored with vanilla, until it makes a stiffish 
mass, which is to be handled subsequently like the 
cream described in the first method. Some confection- 
ers cheapen the cream by using corn starch in it, which 
economizes both sugar and eggs, but the result is not 
so sweet. 

3. Still another method used by confectioners in a 
large way is to boil three and a half pounds of sugar, 
one-eighth ounce cream of tartar and one-half pint of 
water, to the thready and while boiling to grain it 
thoroughly against the side of the sugar boiler with a 
spoon, constantly and regularly, until it assumes a 
creamy consistency. This is also done on the slab, 
which may be warmed by a lamp underneath, with a 
large pallette knife. By a steady rubbing of this boiled 
sugar, after the manner in which painters mix their 
colors sometimes, the sugar becomes creamy, and is 
then to be flavored as desired, and is run into starch 
moulds and allowed to set, so as to be ready for the 
next operation (see below). Yanilla is the best flavor 
to be used in any chocolate combination. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 511 

The Chocolate. — The chocolate envelope or coat- 
ing of the cream drops is easily made in the c-nse of 
the cheaper articles, for street sale, etc. It consists 
only of the chocolate, dissolved in a farina boiler 
with a very little water. If a superior ai'ticle is wanted, 
a regular chocolate icing is made by dissolving a tea- 
spoonful of gum arable in a half gill of water ; dissolve 
a half pound of chocolate in a half pint of hot water ; 
pour the two solutions together, and stir in a table- 
spoonful of sifted icing sugar. Keep warm, and 
"Work with a spoon until the mixture is entirely free of 
lumps, and about the consistency of cream. 

Having now your cream prepared, as described in / 
the first or second methods, divide it into equal por- 
tions, by forcing it through the tube of a small sausage 
staffer, or a machine used by confectioners, called a 




18. — Cream Forcer. 

biscuit forcer, which is a bag with a tin nozzle, and 
cut off equal lengths. These are now simply lifted on 
the end of a fork, placed in the chocolate, and rolled 
about in it until fairly covered with chocolate, and set 
out upon an oiled plate or wire grating to dry, or they 
may be put within the screen or ''stove" to hasten 
their drying. 

If, however, the cream has been prepared in the 
third method, it must be poured into the starch moulds, 
which are prepared precisely as described in Gum 
Drops. [These moulds are made in starch flour (very 
dry), the patterns being pushed down into the starch, 
and then carefully lifted out. We only allude to it 
here, as the process is fully described in the article 
mentioned.] Here the creams are allowed to set — 
that is, to dry somewhat — and then taken out of the 
moulds, dusted, and rolled into the chocolate, as before 



512 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

mentioned, the preference in this case being for the 
chocolate prepared in the second method. 



27. COFFEE CREAM DEOPS. 

These are prepared much the same way as the 
chocolate cream. The same cream is usm\ for the in- 
terior of the drop. The outside, or cotfee icing, is 
prepared by beating up the whites of half a dozen 
eggs, then mixing gradually the icing or powdered 
sugar until quite thick ; now add one half gill of 
cotfee, made as if for drinking, only stronger, so as to 
give the full flavor of the coffee. It is always better 
in making coflee for this use, or any other in confec- 
tionery, to get fresh-roasted coffee, warm it well, and 
grind it yourself. It will taste much better than if 
ready-ground coffee is used. 



28. WALNUT CREAM DROPS. 

These consist of the combination of walnut — either 
our native black walnut or the English (Madeira) 
walnut — and the cream already spoken of. There are 
two methods of making this combination. One is to 
make a disc of the " cream " described in ]^o. 26, about 
as large as a silver quarter dollar, and a quarter of an 
inch thick, and to stick a half walnut kernel to each 
side. The other method is to make two thin discs of 
cream, about the size of the quarter dollar, and to 
place one-half walnut kernel between them, and to 
press the edges of the cream together. 

Hickory nuts and almonds are also used in this 
way. 

Another variation is to dip the walnut cream, made 
either way, into coffee icing (No. 27). Coffee agrees 
with the nut flavors better than chocolate. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. WS 

29. CREAM PRUNES. 

Prunes are prepared by cutting them in half, taking 
out the pit or stone, and inserting in its place some ot 
the cream, made as in No. 26, then sticking the two 
halves together. 

Dates are prepared in the same way. 



30. PINE APPLE CREAM DROPS 

Are made by boiling pine apple in syrup until quite 
tender, allowing it to cool and form a stiff jelly, when 
it can be cut into equal portions, which are either im- 
bedded in the cream (26) or rolled in an icing, without 
flavor, or with flavor like the coffee-flavored icing (27). 



31. RASPBERRY CHOCOLATES, Etc. 

Take raspberry jelly, quite stiff, cut it up, allow the 
squares to dry a little on the surface, and roll in 
chocolate prepared as for cream drops. 

Any of the jellies can be used in this way, and var- 
iations made by using the coffee icing as in No. 27. 



32, ALMOND CHOCOLATES. 

These are popular in some quarters. They consist 
of almonds prepared as if for burnt almonds (see 61), 
and then rolled into the chocolate as chocolate cream 
drops are. Coffee almonds are the same, rolled in the 
coffee icing (27). 



33. PLAIN ICING. 

As we shall ha.ve to allude to plain icing very fre- 
quently, we may as well say here tliat it consists onlj 



Hi THE HOME MECJHAWIC. 

of the white of eggs, beaten up well in a very little 
water, and then mixed with powdered sugar (icing 
sugar) until the thickness of cream. It sets quickly in 
a very moderate heat or even in the air, and is a 
good finish for many things. 



34. COCOANUT CKEAM DEOPS. 

These are made simply by mixing dessicated cocoa- 
nut with the cream, as in 26, and then rolling in plain 
icing, which see. The cocoanut should be soaked in 
milk, and boiled somewhat before mixing with the 
icing. 

35. Cocoanut Cream Drops, 'No. 2. — These are 
made by simply making an icing of white of egg and 
icing sugar, as already described, and then mixing 
therein dessicated cocoanut. The proportions are 
equal quantities of sugar and cocoanut; white of egg 
enough to make the icing. Drop upon tin plates and 
bake at a moderate heat. 



36. DROPS OR PASTILLES. 

Of these there is a limit only in man's power of 
combination of flavor, color and sugar ; but a few re- 
tain such a steady popularity, they are made and sold 
in every locality. There are few things in candy- 
making so easily prepared. The process is as fol- 
lows: 

Put into a dropper (see Mint Dropper under head 
of " Tools.")— 

2 lbs. sugar, granulated. 
5^ gill water. 

Heat gently, but do not let it boil. When it makes 
a slight noise, which is a sign of its beginning to boil, 
stir it, and perhaps move from the fire, if need be, or 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 515 

put on another ring of the furnace; at any rate, keep 
down the heat; add such color as may be desired 
(this is generally quite light and delicate for drops); 
and then add the flavor, which may be an essence or 
powder. The sugar, when done, should be of a con- 
sistence to drop without spreading. If it should be 
too thin, add sugar. Now drop the melted sugar on 
sheets of tin or paper, in successive drops, as near the 
same size as possible, from the tip of the dropper, 
wiping off each drop with a piece of wire in the other 
hand. It is this piece of wire which enables you to 
keep the drops all the same size. When the drops 
have cooled, they can be started from the tin by 
bending to and fro, or from the paper by a thin knife, 
by bending the paper, or by moistening the back of 
the paper. If the drops have been made of the 
proper consistence, they will start easily from the 
paper. In some places they are sold adhering to the 
paper. It is a convenient method of dealing them 
out, and they look well in that way. They should be 
dried somewhat by putting them within the screen or 
stove, but the heat should be gentle, or it will drive ofi 
the flavor, and they should be kept in air-tight jare. 
We give the special recipes for each kind below. 



37. PEPPERMHSTT DEOPS, 

2 lbs sugar. 
^ gill water. 
Heat and operate as described. Add five to ten 
drops strong peppermint essence ; more if desired, and 
drop. 

38. CHOCOLATE DROPS. 

2 lbs. sugar. 
y^ gill water. 
2 oz. chocolate 



516 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Scrape the chocolate aod add gradually to tho 
sugar. Stir well, and drop. All must be dropped, 
and the dropper cleaned before making another batch. 
If this is not observed, your second batch will be 
spoiled. 



39. COFFEE DEOPS. 

Half gill strong coffee made from two ounces of 

the berry. 
2 lbs. sugar. 

As above. If too thick to run, add a little water. 



40. CINNAMON DKOPS. 

3 lbs. sugar. 
J^ gill water. 
As before. Before dropping, stir in one ounce of 
powdered cinnamon, or ten drops essence of cinna- 
mon. There is a rather unpleasant practice among 
confectioners of coloring these drops with hole ammo- 
niao (Armenian bole) a kind of reddish-brown earth. 
This is done when the essence of cinnamon only is used 
to flavor, but it is not wholesome, and certainly in- 
jures the flavor, though a very small per centage is 
used. This bole is neither more nor less than red 
chalk. 



41. CLOYE DKOPS. 
Like Cinnamon. 



42. YANILLA DEOPS. 

Sugar and water, as in previous recipes. Flavor it 
with powdered vanilla in preference to the essence. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 517 

The latter greases the sugar, i.e.^ it makes it heavy and 
tough on cooling instead of tender and melting, as it 
should be. 



43. VIOLET DKOPS. 

Sugar and watex, as before. Stir in one ounce 
powdered orris root before dropping. (These are old- 
fashioned breath -sweeteners. They are not fashionable 
now, but some day they may become so. The same 
is true of Catechu drops.) 



44. CATECHU DKOPS. 

Sugar and water, as before. Six ounces powdered 
catechu. Add a drop of musk or ambergris before 
dropping. 



45. GINGER DROPS. 

These are considered stomachic, and are still sold 
by some druo^gists. Sugar and water as in the other 
drops. Before dropping, add one ounce powdered 
ginger or twenty drops essence, or stronger if desired. 
Color yellow with saffron. 



46. LEMON DROPS. 

Sugar and water, as before. To flavor, add either 
the yellow part of two or more lemons, rubbed off with 
rough sugar and mixed with the sugar in the dropper, 
or essence of lemon. The lirst process is the best. 
The two are often united. Color, faint yellow. 



518 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

47. KOSE DKOPS. 

Sugar and water, as before. Flavor with rose 
esseDce, and color red. 



48. ALMOND OR ORGEAT DROPS. 

Sugar and water as before. The almond flavor is 
either the essence or the milk of almonds. The latter 
is obtained by first blanching the alinonds — that is, 
scalding them and slipping on the skins — then chop- 
ping them up and afterwards crushing them in a mor- 
tar, with the addition of a little lemon juice, to prevent 
them from '* oiling," and the gradual addition of a pint 
of water to every pound of almonds. Finally, when 
thoroughly crushed, the compound is put into a cloth 
and the milk wrung out. The remainder of the al- 
monds is again beaten axid put through the same pro- 
cess until all the almonds are reduced to a milky pulp. 
Use two or three tablespoonfuls of this milk of almonds 
to flavor the sugar for drops. This is an old-fashioned 
method, but the result is very good. 



49. FRUIT DROPS. 

Press out the juice of any fruit through flannel and 
use instead of water, and in the same proportions so 
mix with the sugar. Only make as much as you wish 
to use at one time, or, in other words, clean out the 
dropper each time. The old sugar will grease the 
new unless this is done. 

If an orange flavor is desired, rub oft* the rind as is 
pointed out in lemon drops. 



60. CHOCOLATE JSTONPAREILS. 
These are only chocolate drops, made as described 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 519 

(31), and some sugared caraway seeds (nonpareils) 
poured upon them while the drops are still moist. 
Tlie nonpareils stick to the drops, and, being of dif- 
ferent colors, make an ornamental crust upon the sur- 
face. (See Nonpareils.) 



51. GUM DROPS. 

They are made with ease, though the manipulation 
requires some dexterity and a little experience, which 
is soon gained. Their manufacture depends upon this 
peculiarity of gum solutions. If a solution of gum, or 
gum and sugar, is dropped into any position where it 
can retain its shape, the outside of the drop will dry 
and the inside-will remain moist for a considerable 
time, protected from the drying influence of the air by 
the hard external coating. 

If the mixture contains a spirit like brandy or a 
liquor, the spirit or liquor will gather on the inside of 
the gum mixture, and will be preserved from evapora- 
tion by the iilm or skin outside. 

Hence, to make gum, brandy or liqueur* drops, or 
bonbons, we have to hold the drop in a definite posi- 
tion by means which will not allow the gum and sugar 
to stick to the mould or pattern. The means we have 
in starch powder. We will first describe the gum 
mixture, and then the starch powder mould. 

Dissolve in a " dropper" any specified quantity of 
clean gum arable in three times its weight of hot 
water ; stir till dissolved ; then add best granulated, 
sugar in quantity equal to the gum and water in 
weight. Put over the fire and heat in a mint dropper, 
but not to the boiling point and add the desired fla- 
vor. Now for the 



• The liqueurs or cordials used by the confectioner are obtainable of whole- 
sale grocers. Should it be desired to make them which can be done easily and 
at slight expense, the uessary formular and directions can be found in the " Bar- 
keepers Manual," price 60 cents. 



520 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



STAKCH MOULDS. 



Have one or more flat boxes, say an inch deep, filled 
with powdered starch, and perfectly dry. The top 
surfacfe must be stroked off*, even and smooth, vi^ith a 
straight stick. Into this starch pov^der or flour press 
any pattern desired, and repeat as often as convenient. 
A quick method is to have a number of patterns — 
often these are only buttons — ^glued or fastened to a 
long stick, so that a whole row of them can be im- 
pressed at once upon the powdered starch. Lift your 
pattern up perpendicularly so that you will have a 
clean mould. Your starch patterns are now all ready; 
in other words, the starch powder being filled with 
little pits, you take the dropper in one hand and a 
piece of wire in the other to cut off the fluid aa it falls 
into the little pits, each receiving only enough to fill 
it. As each box of pits is filled it is set aside in the 
stove or within the screen to hasten the drying. In 
twenty-four hours they will be dry enough to take out 
of the starch. Put them into a sieve and shake gently 
and otherwise dust them off. They may be allowed 
to dry a little more when out of the starch, when they 
should be crystallized (see Crystallization) or glaced. 
This gives them a handsome finish ; and when taken 
out they should be kept in air-tight jars. They will 
retain their interior moisture a long time. All the 
gum mixture should be used up, for it will not work 
so well if allowed to dry down. 

Some confectioners, instead of crystallizing gum 
drops, finish them by the imitation crystallizing, 
which see. 



CHEAP GUM DROPS. 

Many of the gum drops sold where trade is quick 
are made thus: 1 lb. of starch is mixed with suffi 
cient cold water to make a stiff paste ; then pour uver 
boiling water to make it clear as in fig paste. Add 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 521 

I lb. pound glucose and 1 to lj4 lbs. sugar, and stir 
briskly over a very moderate fire. A mixture is wanted 
that will pour into the mould. Flavor with any es- 
fience desired, and proceed to pour into the staich 
moulds as before described. While fresh these dropi 
can hardly be distinguished from those made with nat- 
ural gum (starch when boiled is converted into an ar- 
tificial gum), but if allowed to grow stale their inferior 
character is easily detected. 

Gum drops can be made with isinglass or any other 
tasteless animal glue, but they are no cheaper than 
those made by the aid of starch, and when dry, unless 
of the best material, their offensive flavor would speed- 
ily destroy the trade of the dealer. 

When the gums are to be colored, they are gene- 
rally given a pink or red tint. The ordinar}^ confec- 
tioners color is to be used. If not to be crystallized, 
it is well to brush off the drops with a camel's hair 
pencil dipped in alcohol. This brightens them much. 



52. BRANDY AND LIQUEUR DROPS. 

These drops require rather more experience and 
skill than the preceding, but we give them here, as it 
is a more appropriate position for the recipe than else- 
where. 

The patterns are prepared in starch powder, as pre- 
viously explained. The sugar is boiled to the hall as 
follows : 

To each 
1 lb. sugar. 

Add }4 gill of water. 

Boil to the ball, and then add 5 to 20 drops brandy 
or any other cordial or essence desired, stir quickly, 
warm once more, and drop into the patterns from a 
mint dropper and allow to harden. Remove from the 
starch in twenty-four hours ; brush off the powder and 
put into trays in the stove or within the screen. They 



ti22 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

may be crystallized afterward if desired, or lightly 
moistened, and imitation crystallized. 



53. TO FOKM A CHAIN OF LIQUEUR RIINTOS. 

Have some moulds to form the impressions in pow- 
der, as in the preceding, in the shape of the links of a 
chain ; fill them with syrup at the ball, as before, and 
put them in the stove for a day ; when they are hard 
and fit to be taken out, place them on their ends in 
the powder ; have another mould of a link in twc 
halves, and with this form the impression between each 
of the others so as to make it complete ; then fill them 
and finish as before. 



64 ROSOLIOS OR KISSES. 

By one of these names some confectioners designate 
a large liqueur drop made in the same way as de- 
scribed in the preceding paragraph. They are boiled, 
flavored, cast and crystaKzed in the same way. The 
distinction between these and ordinary liqueur drops 
is, that the former are colored. The ordinary colors 
are used. The quantity used should be quite moderate, 
so as to give a tint instead of a full color. Blue is 
considered proper for maraschino, curacoa, etc. ; green 
for anniseed, absinthe, etc. ; and red or pink for 
brandy. 

55. OOCOAinJT PASTE, CREAM, ICE OR 

CANDY. 

• These names are all in use, and all mean the same 
thing. We have even heard the production called 
cocoanut caramel. The article is made as follows: 

7 lbs. granulated sugar 

}i oz. cream of tartar. 

3 pts. water. 



\ THE HOME MECHANIC. 523 

Boil to the feather (235° Fahrenheit), rubbing it 
with a stout spoon or pallette knife against the side of 
the pan until it grains or, becomes creamy. This 
must be thoroughly done to make a good candy. Then 
add the grated whites of two cocoanuts, and stir it 
thoroughly. Mix quickly, and pour out into your 
shapes — tin pans or dishes, oiled. 

A drop or so of lemon essence is relished in cocoa- 
nut ice or candy in some localities, but is just as much 
disliked in others. 



56. EED COCOAJSrUT ICE. 

As before, but boil to the hall (240^ Fahrenheit), 
and add half a cup full of cochineal to every seven 
pounds of sugar used. 

Where large quantities of this candy are made, a 
portion of unboiled sugar is added to the boiled, and 
worked in just before the finish. The candy is then 
poured upon the slab, and left to cool till morning, 
when it is cut by a machine. The small candy maker 
can get a hint from this, after he has had a little prac- 
tice, so as to shorten his labor. 

57. CocoANTJT Ice with Yellow Sugaii. — Same as 
before, using yellow or coffee sugar instead. Molasses 
is even used, and with very prontable results by those 
who make for street sale only. 

E^OTE. — All cocoauut preparations are apt to sour in 
warm weather. 



68. EOCKS. 

By the term '* Rocks" are designated a kind of 
candy much sold on street stands, composed of a basis 
of pulled candy, made either of molasses or brown 
sugar, pulled until it is white, then coiled down into 
a masaand covered with a thin layer of candy, made (^ 



524 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

granulated sugar, and colored with carmine or coch- 
ineal. This casing with a colored cand)'^ is done by 
rolling out the colored candy on the slab with a rolling 
pin, and then laying it over the white ; or oftener still, 
by just pouring out the colored candy, boiled to the 
crack, over the other. In such case, you must wait 
and let the casing sugar cool sufficiently to run very 
slowly. 



LAEGE EOCKS, STEAWBEEEY, OE EASP- 

BEEEY. 

All kinds of fancy names are given to these rocks, 
as Washington Eock, Plymouth Eock, etc., etc. Square 
or round, are made in the same way as the last, with 
some of the solid sugar put into the middle of the 
pulled sugar, doubled over a half a dozen times or more, 
and afterwards cased. They are flavored with any of 
the fruit essences, and for all very thick rocks, the 
sugar must have a little moi'e cream of tartar, and be 
boiled a little beyond the crack, and when pulled out 
to the diameter of about six inches, put them between 
two iron bars ; by turning over when half cold they 
become square, and when cold are chopped in slices. 



59. BUEKT ALMOKD EOCK 

7 lbs. sugar. 

3 pints water. 

% cream of tartar. 
Boil to the crack. Then add 3 lbs. sweet almonds, 
blanched and dried sometime previously. The al- 
monds will reduce the sugar below the crack ; it must, 
therefore, be carefully boiled up again. Stir while 
this is doing with an iron or copper rod, all one way. 
When it reaches the crack again, pour out. The al- 
monds will be sufficiently done in the sugar. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 625 

60. Another Almond Rock. — This is made with 
brown sugar, which is boiled to the crack. Pour it on 
an oiled stone and fill it with sweet almonds, either 
blanched or not ; the almonds are mixed with the 
sugar by working them into it with the hands, in a 
similar manner as you would mix anything into a piece 
of dough. If they were stirred into the sugar in the 
pan it would grain. Form the reck into a ball or roll, 
and make it into a sheet about two inches thick, hy 
rolling it with a rolling-pin. The top may be divided 
into diamonds or squares by means of a long knife or 
piece of iron ; when it is nearly cold cut it into long 
narrow pieces with a strong knife and hammer or the 
machine. 



61. ISrOGAT. 

This is another form of almond confectionery, in 
which the sugar is not boiled. The method ot 
making it is as follows: Two pounds of sweet al- 
monds, one pound of sugar. Blanche the almonds 
and cut them in slices, dry them at the mouth of a cool 
oven, and if slightly browned the better; powder the 
sugar and put it into a stewpan, without water ; place 
it on the fire to melt, stirring it with a spatula until it 
becomes a fine brown ; then mix in the almonds, and 
let them be well covered with the sugar ; pour it out 
on an oiled marble stone. It may be made into a thick 
or thin sheet, and cut with a knife into small pieces, 
such as dice, diamonds, etc. The surface ma^^ be 
strewed with currants, fillets of pistachios or coarse 
sugar, and cut into different forms with tin cutters. 
It may also be formed into baskets, vases, etc. Oil 
the interior of a mould, and spread the nogat over 
it, while warm, as thin and even as possible. To 
save the fingers from being burnt, it may be spread 
with a lemon. Detach it from the mould when warm, 
and let it remain until cold, that it may retain its shape 
perfectly, then fasten the difierent parts together with 



326 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

caramel sugar. For baskets, a handle of spun sugar 
may be placed over it, or ornamented with it, accord- 
ing to fancy. These may be filled with whipped or 
other creams when required to be served. 



62. BUK;N^T ALMOISTDS. 

Genuine burnt almonds are done as follows : 
Four pounds of sweet almonds, not blanched, are 
put into the swing pan (see under head of Tools p. 21.) 
with two pounds of clarified syrup made from granu- 
lated sugar. Boil until -tlie almonds crack, move from 
the fire and stir until the sugar on them becomes 
granular or sandy. Drain on a seive ; put two pounds 
more of syrup into the pan ; add the drainings from 
the first operation, and do the same thing over again. 
Finally, drain them and let them dry in the drying 
room or screen. They should not look smooth. Color 
with cochineal. 

63. Burnt Almonds (Second Method) : — 

These, as commonly sold, are not burnt, but 
merely sugared. To make them, put two pounds of 
sweet almonds into a good-sized pan ; boil four pounds 
brown sugar to the thread, or 235. Having kept the 
almonds in the pan warm, put a quarter pound of 
sugar dust among them, then pour about half a pound 
of the boiled sugar over them, and immediately stir 
them well about with the spatula. The sugar thus 
having grained partly over the almonds, and dried, 
and having parted those that adhere, proceed to do the 
same with the rest of the sugar, till you get them to 
size ; increase the syrup to about a pound, after the 
first coating, but avoid putting too much on at a time ; 
sift them in a coarse sieve to take the loose sugar 
away; to finish, boil about three or four pounds loaf 
sugar as before, with an egg-cup of cochineal ; proceed 
with that as before directed. When at the last, add 



THE HOME MEOHANIO. 627 

to the remainder of syrup an egg-cup of cochineal or 
liquid carmine, the same of water, poured over ana 
stirred till well covered ; turn them out in a coarse 
sieve to drj. 

64. SUGARED ALMONDS (Polished). 

The handsome sugar plums which we see in con- 
fectioners' windows are made in the pan with the aid 
of gum arabic, and polished by the continued work of 
the confectioner. Any specified quantity of blanched 
and well dried sweet almonds, of the best quality, are 
put into the swing pan, which is cold. A ladleful of 
thin solution of gum arabic is poui-ed over them, and 
they are tossed upward and forward continuously until 
they dry. They are now put into the drying room 
and the sugar coating prepared by making a thin 
syrup with the aid of a little heat ; but do not boil 
(strain it for the best work) ; put the almonds back into 
the swing pan ; pour over them this syrup, and go 
through the same process as before, swinging until 
dry. Give two or more coats in this way. If the al- 
monds are very regular in shape, they will not need 
so many coats as if they are irregular. If wanted red^ 
finish with a mixture composed of equal parts of gum 
and sugar, and as much carmine as both together in 
water. Give this last coating in the same way as the 
others, and repeat two or three times for a fine polish. 
Finally, put into the drying room to dry thorpnghly. 

If they are wanted white, make a last coating pre- 
pared as follows : Boil granulated sugar, say three 
pounds, with a pint of water, to the feather, and re- 
move from the fire; then add six ounces powdered 
starch and stir thoroughly ; give it a drop or two of 
blue color, which will intensify the white. Give the 
almonds, after the first or gum coating three to five 
coats of this mixture in the swing pan, each coat fin 
ished the same as the others. The result will be ver^ 
handsome, polished, white, sugared almonds. 



828 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

These operations are all conducted without fire, ex- 
cept where it is directed to warm the syrup. 

The almonds need not be removed from the swing 
pan with every coat, it is onl)^ necessary to see that 
each coat is dry before a new one is put on. The 
various coatings are kept by professionals in a" pearl- 
ing cot," which is a vessel containing a plug in the 
bottom held by a twisted string. (See Small Comfits.) 
This string is so arranged that a touch of the finger 
pulls the plug out a little way, allowing the syrup to 
run through upon the almonds. Taking the finger off 
the string allows it to fly back and keep the plug in. 
Others like to work with a dropper to drop the syrup, 
and a few like to use a whisk broom, but this is slow 
and not very tidy. Every kind of variation is made in 
sugaring almonds, with a view to producing them 
cheaply. 

In the cheaper kinds brown sugar is used instead of 
white when red ones are wanted, and the almonds are 
left unbleached, and cheap white sugar for white ones 
in combination with a greater quantity of starch. 
Almost any method will answer which will make the 
sugar, or sugar and starch, adhere to the almond ker- 
nel. In many kinds there is just enough sugar to be 
perceptible, all the remainder of the coating being 
farina and starch. The polish comes from the, constant 
attrition against the sides of the pan. 



65. CEEAM CAISTDIES. 

Cream candies are candies made of worked sugars 
properly flavored only. There is no other cream about 
them. The mode of manufacture is as follows : 
7 lbs. sugar, granulated. 
3 pints water. 
^ oz. cream of tartar. 
Boil to the thread; remove from the fire, and allow 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 529 

to cool somewhat. With spoon or palette knife work 
the syrup ao^ainst the side of the pan until it changes 
into a thick cream-lookins: substance, called " soft 
grain " by professionals. When in this condition add 
any fruit essence — almonds, almond essence or milk of 
almonds, or preserves desired — mix well, and pour out 
into pans or oiled moulds. The " creaming" may be 
done on the slab. 



66, LEMOlSr DROPS OR CANDY. 

7 lbs. gran, sugar. 

3 pints water. 

^ oz. cream of tartar. 
Boil to the crack ; pour out on the slab, and when 
somewhat cooled work into the mass ^ oz. of citric 
acid, if desired, of line quality — if of ordinary quality, 
tartaric acid will do — and a half a teaspoonful of 
lemon essence. Color slightly with yellow, if thought 
desirable, before pouring on the slab. Pass through 
the machine if wanted for drops, or divide into strips 
aad c^t with scissors. 



67. COUGH CANDY. 

7 lbs. gran, sugar. 

}(, oz. cream of tartar. 

3 pints water. 
Color with a spoonful of saffron water. Boil to the 
crack ; pour out on the slab. When stiff add 2 oz. 
tartanc acid, teaspoonful of aniseed, and two drops of 
peppermint. Mix thoroughly, and then pull on the 
nook When done form into strips, rolls or drops. 

68 Cough Candy. — Same as the last, substituting 
brow^ sugar. 



630 THE HOME MEOHANIO. 

69. HOAEHOUND CA^DY. 

7 lbs. sugar, white or '"H'own. 
\ oz. cream of tartar. 

1 quart water. 

2 pint of strong hoarhound tea. 

Boil to the feather ; grain against the sides of the 
pan with spoon or spatula, slightly, not enough to 
cream it, say two or three minutes only, then pour out 
on the slab. Form into flat sticks, rolls or drops. 



70. SUGAEED PEAl^UTS. 

Sugared peanuts are introduced every little while 
in the large cities. When well made they are very 
popular, and are very profitable. They generally have 
only a run of a few months, partly because stale stock 
is offered by the retailers ; (few goods are worse than 
stale peanuts) and partly because less attention is paid 
to the manufacture, and partly because the taste of the 
buyers changes. They are prepared in the same way 
as burnt almond is (No. 62). The peanut kernels 
should be cleaned of their skins before putting them 
into the syrup. They should be burnt and sanded in 
the same way. 

SuG. Peanuts No. 2. — A cheaper way than the above 
is to roast the peanuts in the ordinary way, clear them 
of their shells, buffet them well about in a seive to get 
off* the skins, and then put them into the swing pan 
over the fire. Here give them first a dash of syrup 
boiled to the feather, swing a few minutes, and empty 
into a vessel containing a low grade of white sugar. 
Shake them about so that some of the sugar will adhere. 
Shake them in a sieve to clean them of the brown 
sugar and they are ready. This makes a very good 

article. 

71. HONEY-COMB CANDY, 

Sponge Sugar, Honey-Comb Candy, Etc., Etc. — This 
form of candy is known by all the above names, and 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 531 

probably by some others uaknown to the writer. The 
process is as follows : Having made a wooden frame 
about twelve or sixteen inches square, and four inches 
deep, place it on a wet slab or wooden bench; take 
seven pounds of loaf sugar (no lowering), boil to the 
caramel degree, previous to which, in a pound jar, 
three parts tilled with icing sugar, mix the whites of 
two eggs, beat it well till stiff for plain icing; when the 
sugar comes to the degree required, put in any flavor- 
ing or color you like, take it off, pour your icing in, 
and immediately agitate the whole quickly with the 
spatula ; in two or three minutes it will rise to the 
edge of the pan, let it fall again, and continue stir- 
ring ; as soon as it begins to rise the second time, in- 
stantly pour it into the frame. Many fail at this pro- 
cess, from pouring out at the first rising, which on the 
slab becomes perfectly fiat and heavy ; when cold, re- 
move it by passing a fine string or long palette-knife 
underneath it. 



72. CHIPS. 

Opera Chips, Florence Chips, Boston Chips, Cen- 
tennial Candy (anything for a name) are only sugar, 
loaf sugar preferably, boiled to the crack, fiavored as you 
like, pulled and striped, or worked plain. It is finally 
run between a pair of rollers and flattened out very 
thin ; these thin sheets are cracked up into irregular 
pieces. They have proved very popular within the 
last year or two. 



73. IMITATIOIT PLUM PUDDHST^S. 

These were a very great novelty when first made ; 
though not so general now, they are still made at 
Christmas in some places. The following plan will 
be found to answer. Having got ready p' eked and 



532 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

stoned three pounds raisins, two pounds currants, half 
pound peel cut in strips, and about one pound of 
almonds blanched and cut into small pieces to look 
like suet, take seven pounds of brown sugar, boil to the 
blow (if very strong sugar is used it must be reduced), 
let it remain off the fire a short time to take some of 
the heat off, then grain it in the usual way, and im- 
mediately put into the sugar your ingredients, work 
an ounce of mixed spice into it thoroughly with the 
spatula, put it into wet pudding cloths and tie them 
tight, exactly the same as a pudding, and hang up 
till they get firm. 



74. BKANDY BALLS. 

Brandy balls are made with brown sugar boiled to 
the crack, and when on the slab work in of good pep- 
permint sufficient to make them strong ; some make 
them black by working in about an ounce of ivory 
black to seven pounds of sugar ; they are cut by roll- 
ing to the proper size and cutting off with knife or 
large scissors, or by ball cutter (see Tools), and rolled 
round with the hands ; if left as they are cut, they 
are called peppermint cushions. 



76. EOCK CAKDY. 

Boil any given quantity of loaf sugar, granulated or 
other, to the feather ; then pour into any vessel in 
which threads may run across. Put into a warm 
place and allow it to remain ^ve or six days. When 
crystallization has ceased, pour off the remaining 
syrup anc rinse out the inside with cold water, and 
put back into the drying room or within the screen to 
further dry. To color it, use a carmine, saffron or 
blue. The first two are most admired. Special ket- 
tles, provided with holes for passing the strings 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 533 

through, are sold by the makers of confectioners' 
tools. These holes are covered with paper, pasted on 
to prevent the syrup from going through. The object 
of the strings is to hasten the crystallization. 



76. PEESIAlSr SHEEBET. 

This is a very favorite sweet in London, and may, 
perhaps, be introduced with profit here. 

Mix fourteen pounds of fine powder sugar with live 
and a half pounds tartaric acid and five pounds of 
carbonated soda. Before the soda is added, work into 
it one ounce of essence of lemon ; a little orange es- 
sence adds to the fragrance and flavor. There is a 
cheaper article made, but the above is not to be sur- 
passed. 



77. SMALL, COMFITS OE NOISTPAEEILS, Etc. 

If we were to classify our goods after the old style, 
our sugared almonds, our sugared pea-nuts and pol- 
ished almonds should come under the head of comfits, 
for comfits are really only seeds or other solids cov- 
ered with a coating of sugar. But we wished to give 
first what the buyer of this book would be most likely 
to want. Under the above head we will therefore 
give general and special directions for making non- 
pareils and other small comfits. 

A swing pan is requisite for this purpose, as 
in sugaring almonds. A batch-pan, containing 
clarified syrup, must be placed by the side of the 
stove, or over another fire, that it may be kept hot, 
but not boiling ; also a ladle for throwing the syrup 
into the pan, and a pearling cot. This last somewhat 
resembles a funnel, without the pipe or tube, and hav- 
ing a small hole in the centre with a pointed piece of 
stick or spigot fitted into it, which, being drawn out a 



534 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

little, allows the sjrup when placed in it to run out in 
a small stream. A piece of string tied several times 
across the centre of the top of the cot, and twisted 
with the spigot, allows it to be drawn out and regu- 
lated at pleasure. 



78. SCOTCH CAKAWAY COMFITS. 

Sift two pounds of caraway seeds in a hair sieve to 
free them from dust, put them into the comfit pan, and 
rub them well about the bottom with your hand until 
they are quite warm ; have some clarified loaf sugar 
in sjrup and boiled to the thread ; give them a charge 
by pouring over them about two tablespoonfuls to 
commence with ; rub and shake them well about the 
pan, that they may take the sugar equally, until they 
are quite dry. Be careful in not making them too wet 
in the first charges by using too much syrup, or they 
will lie of a lump and get doubled, and you will have 
difiiculty in parting them. It will prevent their 
sticking together if the hand is passed through them 
between every swing of the pan, and also add to their 
smoothness. Do not let the heat under the pan be too 
strong, or it will spoil their whiteness. Give thero 
four or five charges, increasing the quantity of syrup a 
little each time, and let each charge be well dried be- 
fore another is given, dusting them at the last charge 
with fiour. Sift them in a hair sieve and clean the 
pan. Put them in again, and give them four or Rve 
charges more, with a dust of flour at the last ; then 
sift them and clean the pan. Proceed in this manner 
until they are one-third of the required size. Put them 
into the stove or sun to dry until the next day, thett 
clarify and boil some sugar to the large thread, keep 
it warm as before, divide the comfits, and put part of 
them in the pan, so as not to have too many in at one 
time ; for as they increase in size yon must divide 
them into convenient portions, so that you may be en- 



THE HOME MKOHANIO. 635 

abled to work them properly without encumbering the 
pan. Give them four or five charges of S)'rup, pro- 
ceeding in the same manner as before, until they are 
two-thirds or more of the required size, and stove them 
until the next day. Continue in this manner with 
each portion alternately, until they are all done. On 
the third day boil the syrup to the small pearl, and 
^ive eight or ten charges as before, without using flour, 
so as to finish them, lessening the quantity of syrup 
each time. Swing the pan gently and dry each charge 
well. Put them in the stove for half an hour or an 
hour after each charge, and proceed alternately with 
each portion until they are finished, when they should 
be about the size of peas. Put them in the stove for 
a day, then smooth them with the whitest loaf sugar 
in syrup, boiled to the small thread ; add two or three 
tablespoonfuls of dissolved gum arable with it to give 
them a gloss. Give them three or four charges with 
a very gentle heat, the syrup being cold and the pan 
scarcely warm. Work and dry each charge well befoi-e 
another is added ; when finished, dry them in a moderate 
heat. It is the best way, if possible, to dry comfits in 
the sun, as it bleaches them. If the stove is at a 
greater heat than the sun in a moderately warm day, 
which is from 70 to 80 degrees of Fahrenheit, it will 
spoil their whiteness. 



79. BATH CAKAWAYS. 

They are made in the same way, but only half the 
size. 



80. GINGERBREAD CARAWAYS. 

Sift the seeds and warm them in the pan, as for 
Scotch caraways. Have some gum-arabic dissolved, 
throw in a ladleful, and rub them well about the pan 
with the hand until dry, dusting them with flour. Give 



S36 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

them tliree or four coatings in this manner, and then 
a charge of sugar, until they are about one-half the 
lequired size. Dry them for a day, give them two or 
three coatings of gum and flour, finish them by giving 
three or four charges of sugar, and dry them. These 
are made about the size of Bath caraways. Color 
parts of them different colors, leaving the greatest por- 
tion white. 



81. CINNAMON COMFITS. 

Cinnamon is the bark of a tree, of which there are 
two sorts. The inferior quality is that usually sold 
for cinnamon, and is otherwise known as cassia, or 
cassia lignea. This breaks short, and has a slimy mu- 
cilaginous taste, is thicker, and of a darker color than 
the cinnamon, which is the inner bark. This breaks 
slivery, and has a warm aromatic taste, and is of a 
reddish color. 

Take one pound of cinnamon bark, and steep it in 
water for a few hours to soften it ; cut it into small 
pieces about half an inch long, and the size of a large 
needle. Dry it in the stove. Put your pieces, when 
dry, into the comlit-pan, and pour on them a little 
syrup, as for Scotch caraways, proceeding in the same 
way until they are one-third the required size. Yon 
must not use yowv hand for these as you would for car- 
aways, as they are liable to break in two. Dr}^ them 
in the stove, then suspend the pearling pot or cot 
from the bar of the pan or ceiling, so as to hang over 
the centre of the pan ; boil some clarified loaf sug'\r to 
the smooth (2150), and fill the cot ; put some of the 
prepared comfits in the pan, but not too many at a 
time, as it is difficult to get them to pearl alike. Keep 
the syrup at the boiling point ; open the spigot of the 
cot so as to allow it to run in a very small stream, or 
more like a continued dropping ; swing the pan back- 
wards and forwards gently, and keep a stronger fir^ 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 537 

under the pan than otherwise. Be careful that the 
syrup does not run too fast, and wet them too mucli, 
but so that it dries as soon as dropped, whicli causes 
them to appear rough. If one cot full of sugar is not 
enough, put in more until they are the required size. 
When one lot is finished put them in sieves to dry, 
and proceed with anotlier ; but do not let tliem lie in 
the pan after you have finished shaking them. They 
will be whiter and better if partly pearled one day and 
finished the next. Use the best clarified sugar to 
finish them. 



82. COKIANDER COMFITS. 

Proceed with these as for Scotch caraways, working 
them up to about the same size. The next day pearl 
them to a good size, as for cinnamon. 



88. CELEEY COMFITS. 

Put one pound of celery seed into the pan, and pro- 
ceed as for Scotch caraway comfits, working them up 
to the size of a large pin's head. Dry and pearl them 
as cinnamon. 



84. OAEAWAY COMFITS, PEAELED. 

When the comfits are about the size of Bath cara- 
vrays, dry and pearl them as cinnamon. 



85. CAEDAMO]^ COMFITS. 

The seeds should be kept in their husks until they 
are required to be used, as they lose much of their 
flavor and virtues when deprived of them. Thev are 



538 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

often mixed with grains of paradise, but tliese have 
not the aromatic taste of the cardamon, and are more 
hot and spicy. Break the husks of the cardamons by 
rolling them with a pin; separate the skins from the 
seeds, put two pounds into the comfit-pan, and pro- 
ceed as for Scotch caraways. Make them a good size 
and quite smooth. 



86. BAEBERRY COMFITS. 

Pick the barberries from the stalks, and dr}^ them 
in a hot stove on sieves ; when dry, put about two 
pounds into the comfit pan, and proceed as for almond 
comfits, giving them first a charge of gum and flour, 
and finish as others. Make them of a good size and 
quite smooth ; finish with very white loaf sugar in 
syrup. 



• 87. CHERRY COMFITS. 

These are made from preserved cherries, dried. 
Roll them in your hand to make them quite round, 
dast them with powdered loaf sugar, and dry them 
again ; then proceed as for barberry comfits. Any 
other preserved fruits may be made into comfits after 
the same manner. 



88. COMFITS FLAVORED WITH LIQUEURS. 

Blanch some bitter almonds, or the kernels ot 
apricots or peaches; let them soak in hot water for an 
hour, then drain them, and put them into any sort of 
liqueur or spirit you may desire. Lower the strength 
of the spirit with water, that the kernels may imbibe 
it the better, cork the jug or bottle close, and let them 
infuse in it until the spirit has fully penetrated them, 
which will be about fourteen or fifteen days ; then 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 539 

take them out, drain and dry them in a moderate 
heat ; when diy, proceed as for almond comfits. 



89. OKANGE COMFITS. 

Take some preserved orange-peel, and cut it into 
small thin strips ; dry them in the stove, and make as 
cinnamon comfits. 

Lemon Peel or Anglica may be made into comfits 
after the same manner. Let the strips of peel be 
about the size of the pieces of cinnamon, and thor- 
oughly dried before working them in the pan. 



90. NONPAEEILS. 

Use caraway seed, and proceed as for Scotch cara- 
ways, working them well with the hand until they 
are about the size of pins' heads. 

To COLOR Nonpareils or Comfits. — Put some of 
your comfits or nonpareils into the comfit-pan, shake 
or rub them about until warm, then add a sufiicient 
quantity of prepared liquid color (see Colors) to give 
the desired tint ; be careful not to make them too wet, 
nor of too dark a color, but ratlier light than other- 
wise ; shake or rub them well about, that they may 
be colored equally; dry them a little over the fire, 
then put them in sieves, and finish drying them in the 
stove. Clean the pan for every separate color. 



91. CAKDIED CALAMUS OR SWEET FLAG. 

The root is dried, cleaned, cut into pieces about ^ 
of an inch long and treated with syrup as in 81. Some 
split and press the root before candying so as to make 



540 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

a handsome looking article. By many also the root 
is boiled somewhat previous to candying to extract 
some of the bitterness. 



92. LOYAGE. 
Lovage is treated in all respects like Calamus. 



LOZEKGES. 

These can be made in small establishments, but 
the large ones, where machmery is employed, make 
them so much cheaper that in most places it will 
not pay to compete with them. The process is sim- 
ple. Any quantity of good clean gum arabic is dis- 
solved in twice its weight of hot water — that is to 
say, a pound of gum to a quart of water. When 
thoroughly dissolved, sufficient powdered sugar, sifted 
through coarse muslin, is added to the gum and tho- 
roughly mixed with it, and the flavor is added at the 
same time, until it becomes of the consistency of 
pie dough. It is then rolled out upon a board to a 
regular thickness, still after the manner of dough, 
and with an ordinary wooden pastry roller. It is 
now ready for the cutter, which can be had of dealers 
in confectioners' tools. These cutters are made with- 
out a lap joint, are slightly smaller at the cutting end 
than at the other, and may be of tin or steel. Tin 
will do ordinarily, for the lozenge dough cuts easily. 
As the lozenges are cut they succeed each other in the 
cutter until that implement is full. The workman 
turns it and knocks out the lozenges upon a tray of 
tin or other material, and they are placed within the 
drying room or screen to dry, while he proceeds to cut 
more. To prevent any sticking, use powdered starch 
freely upon the rolling board or 'ilab, and keep pow- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 541 

dered starch upon the hands ; indeed, many manufac- 
turers in the large way use starch not only to facili- 
tate the work, but also to compose a large part of the 
lozenge. Many of the lozenges sold in trains are little 
more than sweetened and flavored starch. It would 
be well if this were the only adulteration, but con- 
scienceless manufacturers add china clay, called terra 
alba^ or white earth, plaster of paris, etc. (The pres- 
ence of either of these adulterations in lozenges or 
candy may be detected by dissolving one or two of the 
lozenges or a piece of the candy in a tumbler of hot 
water. When the suspected article has been well dis- 
solved, the adulteration will fall to the bottom of the 
tumbler, where it can be plainly seen.) In factories, 
the cutting of the lozenges is done by a machine, 
as well as the rolling out of the dough. This 
insures uniform size, and a great economy of la- 
bor. We give the most approved recipes for the 
ingredients of lozenges, as there may be local- 
ities to which this book will penetrate where it will 
pay still to make lozenges by hand. In some places 
it is the custom to use gum tragacanth instead of gum 
arabic. The tragacanth makes a softer, more melting 
lozenge when new, and the gum is cheaper. It takes 
up less sugar and water than the gum arabic. As the 
confectioners say, it is not so "strong a gum," and it 
is less easily handled than gum arabic. Nevertheless 
the Scotch confectioners prefer it for many kinds of 
lozenges still,and some French work is also done with it. 

93. Peppermint Lozenges. — 

1 lb. gum. 

.1 qt. water, hot. 

Powdered sugar sufficient to make stiff dough (it 
will take about 28 lbs). 

2 oz. essence peppermint. 

94. Ginger Lozenges. — Gum water and sugar as 
before. Add one pound fine powdered ginger and 
half ounce essence of lemon. 



542 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

95. Cough Lozenges. — Gum water and sugar as in 
49. Dissolve liquorice in water to the consistenc}^ of 
thin molasses, and add to the lozenge dough, and work 
it well, to color uniformly before rolling out ; also 
work in at the same time 

2 oz. ipecachuanha. 

1 dram acetate of morphia (morphine.) 

1 oz. oil annieeed. 

1 oz. powdered tartaric acid. 
Mix thoroughly, roll out and cut. 

96. Coltsfoot Rock. — 

1^ lbs. gum tragacanth. 

2 qts. hot water. 

Soak well. Strain through a coarse cloth a day 
beforehand. When all is ready, add thick liquorice 
to color, and half an ounce essence of lemon. Then 
work in the sugar. Work well, to get an even texture, 
after which proceed as usual. 

97. Aniseed. — Gum water and sugar as before, 
liquorice water to color dark brown, and one ounce 
oil of aniseed. 

98. Bath. — Same as the last, omitting the aniseed, 
and increasing the liquorice to give more color. 

Wintergreen, Cinnamon and Cloves are popular 
flavors in lozenges. They are all made like pepper- 
mint except that in cinnamon the powdered baik is 
used instead of essence. 



PRESERYING. 

Though not often the confectioner's business in this 
country to preserve fruits, it may occasionally yet be 
useful. We give, therefore, some general hints ; 

Wet Fruits. — Most of the fruits are first prepared 
by being blanched, that is, boiled in water ; they are 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 543 

then drained and put into boiling syrup, where they 
remain for a da}'. The syrup being now weakened 
with the juice of the fruit, it is poured off, more sugar 
is added, and it is reduced again to syrup by boiling, 
and poured hot over the fruit; this is continued until 
it is fully saljurated with sugar, which may be known 
by the syrup being no longer weakened with the juice 
ot the fruit. Keep them in a dry but not warm place, 
as too much heat will cause them to ferment, more 
especially if they are not incorporated with sugar ; nor 
in a damp place, or they will become mouldy. 

All green fruits require to be greened, so as to bring 
them to their original color, for in blanching they 
assume a yellowish cast ; this is probably occasioned 
by a portion of the alkali being extracted in the boil- 
ing. The green color of fruits and leaves depends 
upon an excess of alkali ; and in proportion as acid 
or alkali prevails in them, so are they colored from 
red to violet, blue, and green ; therefore, if alkali is 
added to the water the color is retained. This is ex- 
emplified in the everyday domestic duties of the cook, 
who uses soda, potash, or muriate of soda (common 
salt), in boiling her greens or cabbages. I have here 
stated the principle on which their color depends, to 
show that there is no necessity for green fruits being 
kept for some time in brass or copper pans, whereby 
they take up a portion of verdigris, which often proves 
injurious. 

Prick your fruit several times with a fork or large 
needle to allow the sugar to penetrate the more freely 
As you do them throw them into a pan of cold water, 
which prevents their turning black at the places where 
they are pricked ; add a little soda or potash, and set 
the pan by the side of the stove to heat gradually, but 
not to boil, or at the most only to simmer; when the 
fruit swims, take it out with a skimmer and put it 
into cold water ; if they are not green enough, drain 
them and put them again into the water they were 
tirst boiled in, or else into a weak syrup ; place thera 



544 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

by the side of the stove to heat gradually as before, 
stirring them occasionally. They may be covered 
with vine leaves, or a handful of spinach ; if salt is 
used in greening them, they will require to be soaked 
for a few hours in clean cold water, to again extract 
that portion which they have absorbed, or it will spoil 
their flavor. It is best to blanch fruits which are very 
juicy in hard or pump water, or with the addition of 
a little alum to river water. 

After this put them into a syrup containing a pound 
of sugar for each pound of fruit. Boil up once ; skim ; 
boil up again, and skim. Repeat this three times for 
soft fruits, more for the hard ones. Take the fruit oat 
of the syrup, drain and put into the jars ; then boil 
up the remaining syrup, skim carefully, and with it 
fill the jars containing the fruit ; seal down the top 
with pasted paper, putting over the fruit and in imme- 
diate contact with it a piece of paper soaked in brandy. 

Candied Ceystalized Fritits. — Any fruit or peel 
which has been first preserved in syrup may be can- 
died. 

Take the fruit out of the syrup, and let it drain on 
a sieve ; then dip the sieve with the fruit into luke- 
warm water, to wash oft' the syrup from the surface ; 
take it out, let it drain, and dry it in the stove. Boil 
some fresh syrup to the blow ; put in the fruit, and 
give it a boil in it. The fruit when it is put in will 
reduce the sugar, it must therefore be boiled to the 
same degree again. With a spoon or spatula rub the 
sugar against the side of the pan, to grain it ; when it 
begins to whiten put the fruit in the white part sepa- 
rately ; with two forks take it out and lay it on sieves 
or wire frames, for the sugar to drain from it. 

Dried Fruits. — Any of those fruits which are pre- 
served with syrup may be dried ; they are also better 
when fresh dried. Warm the fruit in the syrup ; take 
it out, and drain ; spread it on sieves or wires ; put 
them in the stove to dry, turning them frequently 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 8>4" 

nntil perfectly dried. When the fruit is drained from 
the syrup, it may be dusted with loaf sugar when you 
put it in the stove, and for two or three times when 
you turn it. Too much heat will blacken the fruit, 
therefore let the heat of the stove be about IC/O or 110 
degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer. 

Another method still is to give a less elaborate 
preparation to the fruit previous to drying : scalding, 
boiling up once or twice in a thin syrup, and then 
putting in the drying-room to dry off. It is finally 
covered with hot syrup, boiled to the feather, and 
allowed to crystalize. 

Recent experiment has shown that the Alden method 
of curing or drying sugar-boiled fruits has been quite 
successful. The French crystalized fruits are selling 
here at retail for a dollar per pound, and it may be 
quite worthy of experiment as to whether the Alden 
process will not supplant them profitably at half the 
price. 

Candied Fruits for Street Sale. — Oranges de- 
prived of skin and pith, and divided into quarters ; 
apples peeled and cored, and occasionally other fruits, 
are stuck upon splinters, and dipped into syrup boiled 
to the crack. They are then laid out to dry, and sell- 
ing generally at a penny per quarter, they afford large 
per centage to the Italian street confectioner who tries 
his hand upon this form of confection. Generally the 
sugar is colored with carmine. 



TO EESTOEE STALE ACID CANDY TO ITS 
ORIGINAL UNFLAYORED CONDITION. 

It sometimes happens to the candy-maker that some 
of his goods remain on hand so long as not to be first 
rate. It is good policy in such a case to work them 
over again, instead of giving his customers inferior 
goods. Old candy can always be brought back to clear 



546 THE HOME MECHAITIC. 

syrup by dissolving it in water (hot hastens it) and run- 
ning it through a jelly bag. If not clear the first time, 
run it through again and again until it is, or put some 
bone-black in the bottom of the jelly bag, and run the 
syrup through that ; or clarify, as explained in Glari- 
fjoation. If the color in the candy is no harm, all this 
trouble need not be taken simple solution in a small 
quantity of water and reboiling being all that is needed. 
But if your candy is acid — old lemon drops^ for in- 
stance — you get rid of the acid by dissolving the sugar 
in water and then adding powdered chalk enough to 
make the mixture effervesce. Then run it through the 
bag as before described. The chalk takes up the acid, 
and the syrup is as good for any purpose as ever. 



SPIISTNING SUGAK, PIPING, GUM PASTE, 
OEISTAMENTS, Etc. 

The making of the numerous artistic designs in the 
above is the most difficult and the most interesting of 
the confectioner's art, and as practised in first-rate 
houses and families of distinction, and especially in 
France, the workman must not only understand the 
rules and principles of art as regards perspective, etc., 
but must be an adept at drawing, modelling, and 
decoration. The amateur may however practice it 
for his improvement, and the great satisfaction arising 
from this pleasing method of employing spare time ; 
and time and patience are very necessary to insure 
success in these processes, together with skill in 
manipulation, conception, and design. Gum paste 
ornaments are used largely for wedding cakes, etc., 
combined with the liberal application of piping, and 
we have known many instances in which these alone 
have fulfilled all the purposes of other and more ex- 
pensive ornamentation. Great practice is requisite to 
make a good hand at piping, but we do not see why 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 547 

any moderately ingenious person ma}^ not try the 
process and succeed. The same remarks apply to 
spinning sugar. Determination and perseverance will 
accomplish any of the operations here named. 



99. TO SPm CARAMEL SUGAR. 

Take any small or moderate quantity of clarified 
loaf sugar and boil to the caramel, take it off quickly 
and put the pan into a tub of cold water to stop the 
principal heat, then place it near the stove to keep 
the sugar warm enough to work with facility. 

The moulds you intend to work upon should be 
copper, tin, or glass, etc., made on the bevel, so as to 
deliver well. They must be rubbed slightly with fresh 
butter. The sugar previously spoken of having cooled 
a little, take a fork and try it by dipping it into the 
sugar, and hold it up rather high and spin by a shake 
of the hand ; if it forms threads it will do for the pur- 
pose of spinning. Take your mould in the left hand, 
turn it upside down, take out a little sugar with 
the bowl of a spoon and pour it out, equally in 
threads or lines certain distances. When this is fin- 
ished one way turn the mould round, so as to form an 
angle, and proceed again crossways in the same man- 
ner. The threads ought to be the thickness of twine. 
When the body of the shape is formed it can be orna- 
mented with the fine silken threads made by spinning 
the sugar from forks or pronged tools. They can be 
also made into baskets, by drawing a handle on a 
smooth greasy slab, and then following the lines with 
the sugar from the spoon. Spun sugar can also be 
made into vases, ships, etc., by making the parts 
separate and afterwards sticking them together with 
some of the sugar used in the process. 



S48 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

100. GUM PASTE ORNAMEISTTS. 

Blocks, cutters, and moulds are required for this 
process. Gum tragacanth is the main and necessary in- 
gredient. It is difficult to dissolve and sti-ain, and to 
do it properly it requires two persons to wring the 
cloth through which it passes, but it may be forced 
through a sieve. The gum must be well washed and 
covered with water a day and night, then strain it as 
directed; work it well in a marble mortar, with equal 
quantities of the finest powder sugar and starch pow- 
der. It must be very tough by Working it thoroughly 
and bear pulling till it breaks. 

Keep the paste in an earthen pot, with a damp cloth 
always on it. The above is made better with all 
sugar, or commoner, with more starch powder, and has 
been very much adulterated by using plaster of Paris. 
To take the impression from the moulds, use fine starch 
powder shook over it, as also in rolling the paste to 
the required thickness and size. Press the paste in 
the moulds or blocks with your thumb or the ball of 
your hand, and cut ofi" the superfluous paste with a 
very thin knife sold for the purpose. You must then 
knock it out, or make a small lump of paste adhere to 
the impression and pull it out. 



101. SUGAR PIPING FOR CAKES, Etc. 

A very fine sugar icing is prepared as directed in 
the book with the finest powdered loaf sugar and 
whites of eggs and lemon juice. The tubes through 
which this is forced are made for many designs in tin 
by the '* confectioners' tool maker," but they can be 
made with good stiff writing-paper. They are made 
similar to a cone, with the tip off. It is partly filled 
with the icing, the top edges turned in, the same as 
those which a grocer makes by turning around his 
hand, then press out with the thumb and forefinger 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 549 

through the opening at the end over your previously 
iced cake in any form, design, or shape you like, ac- 
cording to the manner you cut the fine end of the 
paper cone so the icing comes out. Various shapes 
can be made by varying the cutting, which is done 
with fine sharp scissors. Many persons n>ay be sur 
prised with the efifects of this simple method of piping 
or ornamenting, and which they can easily try, and 
with a little ingenuity succeed in, so as to answer all 
the purposes of a family fruit cake, or even produce 
sufficiently well formed designs on a wedding cake. 



102. CHEWING GUM. 

1 lb. parafine refined. 
y^ white sugar. 
Color to suit. 
Melt and ponr out into a candy pan and divide 
when cool into squares. 

103. 1 lb. spruce gum (or Venice Turpentine). 
^ lb. parafine. 

Melt together. 

104. 1 lb. spruce gum (or Yen. Turp.) 
^ lb. bees wax, white. 

^ lb. tallow. 
Melt together. 

105. % lb. rosin, 
i^ lb. wax. 

% Ven. Turp. 
Melt together. 



ICE CKEAM AND ICES. 

The sale of Ice Cream is frequently carried on in 
conjunction with the sale of Candy, especially in small 



550 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

towns. It affords a fair profit, and a taste for the 
article can often be developed in a community so as 
to make a steady and lucrative trade v^here perhaps 
it had been before unknown. To ensure this result 
the article must be good The use of both Ice Cream 
and Ices appears to be extending each year. We give 
below a number of recipes for different varieties of 
Creams and Ices which are in use in the trade. Tho 
quantities can of course be increased to any extent 
that may be desired, so long as the relative propor- 
tions of the different ingredients are observed. 

106. Ice Cream. — 

1 pint milk. 

2 yolks of eggs. 
6 oz. sugar. 

1 tablespoon ful corn starch. 

Scald, but do not boil. Then put the whites of the 
two eggs into a pint of cream ; whip it. Mix the milk 
and cream, flavor, and freeze. One teaspoonful of 
vanilla or lemon is generally suflScient. 

107. — 2 quarts cream. 
1 pound of sugar. 
Beat up, flavor, and freeze. 

108.— 1 qt. of milk. 

1 sheet of isinglass. 

6 oz. of sugar. 

1 pint of whipped cream and white of 2 egg8 
beaten up. 
Flavor, and freeze. 

109. — ^Wentwoeth's Ice Cbeam. — For 40 qts., use 

20 qts. pure cream. 
6 lbs. best pulverized sugar. 
1 gill extract of vanilla. 

Stir together ; turn into a 40 gallon can, packed in 
ice and salt, and beat until it fills the can. Then 
freeze. It takes from twenty minutes to one hour. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 551 

In most freezers there is a beater that whips the cream 
up while it is freezing. 

110. — 3 pts. cream. 

3 pts. milk. 
1 cup sugar. 

Beat up the egg first ; mix and beat it up again in 
the milk and cream. Flavor, p.nd then freeze. 

111. — 1 gall, unskimmed or new milk. 

4 eggs. 

1>^ lbs. sugar. 

Beat up the eggs bj themselves first ; then add to 
the milk and beat again. Add the sugar, flavor, and 
freeze. 

112. Strawberry or Raspberry. — In mixing your 
materials for these, mix pure sugar with the juice of 
the fruit you intend to use first, or you may somewhat 
curdle your cream. Any of the above recipes will do, 
allowing a half pint of fruit juice to every quart of the 
cream or cream and milk. No other flavors. 

113. Chocolate or Coffee. — For coftee, make a 
strong extract, a little stronger than for drinking, and 
use half a pint of it for every quart of cream or milk. 
No other flavor. For chocolate, scrape 4 oz. Mail- 
lard's or Baker's chocolate into half a pint of milk and 
work it smooth with a spoon. Add to every quart of 
cream mixture. No other flavor is required. If un- 
flavored chocolate is used, it is best to add the usual 
vanilla essence. 

114. Orange Ice (Water Ice). — Grate off the yel- 
low part of the rind of six oranges into a pint of 
water for fifteen minutes and then strain the liquor. 
Then squeeze the oranges, and enough more to make 
a quart of juice. Pour the two together, add a pound 
of sugar, and mix and half freeze. Then add the 



B53 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

whites of four eggs, beat up in the half frozen ice, and 
then finish the freezing. 

115. Lemon Ice. — Take the juice of a dozen lemons 
and a quart of water and two lbs. of sugar. Mix, and 
half freeze. Grate off the yellow part of the rind of 
three lemons. Let it stand in water fifteen minutes. 
Strain off; add to the mixture with a teaspoon ful of 
lemon essence and freeze. 

116. Roman Punch. — Add to every quart of orange 
or lemon ice, one-quarter gill of brandy, one-quarter 
gill of rum. 



SODA WATEE SYRUPS. 

The sale of Soda "Water, like that of Ice Cream, is 
frequently carried on in conjunction with the candy 
business. The aerated water is served by wagons to 
customers in the large cities in large cylinders which 
are attached to the fountain. This aerated water is 
formed by forcing carbonic acid gas into common 
water in the cylinder, which is worked to and fro dur- 
ing the operation, to cause the gas to combine with 
the water. In places distant from the soda water 
factories the dealer may be obliged to make liis own 
gas and prepare the carbonic acid water (soda water, 
so called). This is done by pouring sulphuric acid 
upon marble dust. The marble dust and the acid are 
sold by the manufacturers of soda fountains, together 
with machines for the preparation of the water. Or- 
dinarily it can be made for about half what is charged 
by the manufacturer of the aerated water, but dealers 
generally prefer not to take the trouble when they can 
buy the prepared water conveniently. Tlie machines, 
together with the fountain for displaying the soda 
water can be had of any one of the firms who make a 
specialty of these class of goods. The cost varies from 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 553 

a few 'dollars to many hundreds, some fountains being 
elaborate works of art in costly marble with silver 
trimmings and enormous capacity. 

The manufacturers give in their catalogues descrip- 
tions of the various articles, with prices, and informa- 
tion as to making the gas. There is no ground for 
any prejudice against the use of marble and acid for 
making the gas as neither article enters into tlu' soda 
water, the gas being a new product entirely different 
from the two articles from which it is developed. 

Whatever course is adopted as to the purchase or 
preparation of the soda water, it will genei-ally be 
found advantageous to make the flavoiing syrups used 
in dispensing it. A saving of nearly 50 per cent, is 
effected, with but slight labor, and freshness and pui-ity 
are ensured. The following are standard formulas 
for making the favorite syrups : 

117. Sarsaparilla Syrup. — ^Take of white sugar- 
house syrup, one gallon ; water, one pint ; holding in so- 
lution one-eighth ounce each of extract of liquorice, gum 
arable, and sulphate of iron. A portion of the syrup 
to be rubbed up with a quarter of an ounce of w^inter- 
green and sassafras. 

118. Sarsaparilla Syrup (Parrish's). — Take of sim- 
ple syrup four pints ; compound syrup of sarsaparilla, 
four fluid ounces ; caramel, one and a half fluid 
ounces ; oil of wintergreen and sassafras, of each, six 
drops. 

119. Lemon Syrup. — ^Dissolve one ounce of citric acid 
in four of water, and add nine pints of simple syrup; 
also add four fluid ounces of mucilage acaciae and a 
half fluid ounce of essence of lemon. 

120. Another Formula. — Grate off the yellow rind 
of lemons, and beat it up with a sufficient quantity of 
granulated sugar. Express the lemon-juice, add to 
each pint of juice one pint of water, and three and a 
half pounds of granulated sugar, including that rubbed 



554 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

up with the rind ; warm until the sugar is dissolved, 
and strain. 

121. Another Formula.. — Dissolve six drachms of 
tartaric acid and one ounce of gum arable, in pieces, 
in one gallon of simple syrup ; then flavor with one 
and a half fluid drachm of best oil of lemon. Or 
flavor with the saturated tincture of the peel in cologne 
spirits. 

122. Orange Syrup. — To be prepared from the 
fruit in the same manner as 121. 

123. Another Formula. — Dissolve six drachms of 
citric acid in orte gallon of simple syrup, and add two 
fluid drachms of fresh oil of orange in two ounces of 
alcohol; or, instead of alcohol solution of the oil, 
use the saturated tincture obtained by maccerating 
the peel for ten days in sufficient cologne spirits to 
cover. 

The lemon and orange syrups, made from the fruit, 
after being strained, may be diluted with an equal 
bulk of simple syrup. One dozen of the fruit is suf- 
ficient to make a gallon of finished syrup. 

124. Ginger Syrup. — Mix two fluid ounces of 
tincture of ginger with four pints of simple syrup. 

125. Yanilla Syrup. — Mix two fluid ounces of fluid 
extract of vanilla with four pints of simple syrup. 

126. Syrup of Coffee.— Pure coffee, roasted and 
ground, half a pound, is infused in boiling water, half 
a gallon ; enough is filtered off to make half a gallon 
of infusion, in which dissolve seven pounds of granu- 
lated sugar. 

The best utensil for making the coffee infusion is 
the French style of coffee pot, having a receptacle 
above for the ground coffee upon which boiling water 
is poured, extracting tlie flavor without the bitter. 
This infusion drains through a seive bottom into the 
lower half of the coffee pot. With care, however, a 



THIC HOME MECHANIC. 555 

fair infusion of coffee may be made in any utensil, but 
continued boiling develops the bitter. 

127. Strawberry and Raspberry Syrups. — Mash 
the fresh fruit, express the juice, and to each quart add 
three and a half pounds of granulated sugar. The 
juice, heated to 180* Fahrenheit, and strained or filt- 
ered previous to dissolving the sugar, will keep for an 
indefinite time. 

The juice of soft fruits is best when allowed to drop 
therefrom by its own weight, lightly mash the fruit 
and then suspend in a cloth, allowing the juice to drop 
in a vessel beneath. 

128. Pineapple Syrup. — Same as above. 

129. Nectar Syrup. — Mix three parts of vanilla 
syrup with one each of pineapple and lemon syrup. 

130. Sherbet Syrup. — Mix equal parts of orange, 
pineapple and vanilla syrup. 

131. Grape Syrup. — Mix half a pint of brandy, 
quarter of an ounce of spirits of lemon, and sufficient 
tincture of red Saunders with one gallon of simple 
syrup. 

132. Wild Cherry Syrup. — Mash the cherries with 
the stones and then proceed as in 127. — Some add one 
ounce of best brandy to every quart of syrup. 

133. Cream Syrup. — Take of Borden's condensed 
milk, one pint ; water, one pint; sugar, one and a half 
pounds. Heat to boiling, and strain. This will keep 
for over a week in a cool place. 

As generally dispensed, the " cream" is used in con 
junction with some special flavor, as, " vanilla cream," 
" chocolate cream," etc. The flavoring syrup being 
sweet, the above " cream" may be too sweet used 
therewith, hence the quantity of sugar used in its 
preparation should be reduced to whatever degree will 
make it palatable. 



556 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

134. — Orgeat Syrup. — Cream syriip and vanilla 
Bjrup, each one pint; oil of bitter almonds, foar 
minims. 

135. Maple Syrup. — Dissolve three and a half 
pounds of maple sugar in one quart of water. (Most 
of the syrups not made from fruits may have a little 
gum arable or isinglass previously dissolved added, 
in order to produce a rich troth). 

136. Chocolate Syrup. — Bakers' chocolate, four 
ounces, dissolve in twenty ounces of boiling water, and 
dissolve in this one pound avoirdupois, of granulated 
sugar. 

137. Walnut Cream. — This is a new flavor. To 
make it. take one pound of the hickory nuts or wal- 
nuts ; remove the skin, which if left would give an 
unpleasant bitter taste. Pound the kernels in a mor- 
tar adding from time to time a drop of lemon juice, 
not to flavor but to prevent the nuts becoming oily. 
As fast as the nuts are reduced, put them in a linen 
cloth which should be gathered around them so that 
they may be squeezed through the cloth. Whatever 
is left in the cloth is to be returned to the mortar and 
pulverized further. All should eventually be used 
up. The result of this process is to be added to two 
quarts of the "cream" (see 133) and used in lieu of 
Bjrup in dispensing the soda. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 557 



BREAD, CAKE, AND CRACKER BAKING. 



I.— YEAST. 



On the quality of the yeast depends the perfec- 
tion of the bread. With good yeast bread can be 
made satisfactorily of very ordinary flour, while 
poor yeast will spoil the best flour ever made. 
There are many methods of using yeast, but the 
most certain and prompt in the production of good 
bread and a fine clear crust, is the one in which it 
is used with a ferment. 

To Make Stock Yeast. — Take two ounces of the 
best hops, and boil in four quarts of water for thirty 
minutes; strain, and cool to 90° Fahrenheit; then 
add to it a handful of salt, half a pound of sugar, 
and a pound of flour, mixed with enough tepid wa- 
ter to form a thin batter, and strain it; mix well, 
and add a pint of previously made yeast. The so- 
called German Yeast, National Dry Yeast, or 
Fleischmann's, will serve for this purpose; it is 
readily obtained in most parts of this country at 
grocery stores. Again mix, cover close, and let it 
remain undisturbed, at about 90°, for twelve hours; 
then set it away in a cool spot for use as needed. 

It now consists of a number of fungi called yeast 
plant, floating in the liquor. The more fungi con- 
tained in a given quantity, the better the yeast is. 
These yeast plants are easily destroyed by median- 



?'5S THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ical injury, by heat or cold, or chemical agency. 
CarC; therefore, must be taken that, in setting off 
the ferment, or sponging, it is not scalded, nor ex- 
posed before using to excessive cold; if it freezes, 
it is spoiled, and must certainly not be used. 

The implements used for the production of yeast 
should be kept scrupulously free from grease and 
dirt. Grease delays, though it does not prevent, 
fermentation. It is best to have the mash-tub, 
hair-sieve and pail employed in this part of the 
business used only for this purpose. 

Many bakers use malt instead of sugar. In that 
case, a half-pound of malt will replace the pound 
of sugar given in the above recipe. The above is 
now the Stock Yeast, a portion of which is pre- 
served, according to your needs, for your next two 
days' baking, if in summer, and for a week, if in 
winter, as well as a pint or more for your next re- 
prod action of stock yeast. Alwaj'S before using 
smell your yeast ; if sour, throw it away. 

Another method of making yeast is to add to the 
recipe already given a teaspoonful of ground gin- 
ger. This increases its keeping quality in summer, 
but adds a little flavor to the bread, if the batch 
be small. 

The Ferment. — Pare, wash and remove the de- 
fects from a quart of potatoes; boil, and mash them 
in the tub with two pounds of flour; add to the 
mixture, gradually, a ten-quart pail of water, of a 
temperature to reduce the whole to 120°, and two 
quarts of yeast, as above ; cover the tub, and leave 
it undisturbed six hours. 

The object of the ferment is to have the yeast 
produce its effect by the use of as little as possible 
of the yeast. If the ferment were not used, so 
much yeast would be required to do the work in 
time, that the bread would partake of the bitter 
flavor of the hops. Even as it is, in most bread the 
flavor of the yeast can be detected 



THE HOME MECHANIC, 659 

The Sponge. — In setting off the sponge, the heat 
or cold of the weather must be taken into consider- 
ation in calculating the time for the sponge to 
" come; " that is, to be ready to use. The hotter 
the sponge is set off, the quicker it comes, and vice 
versa; so that if, by reason of running short in 
stock of bread, a batch is needed in a hurry, the 
ferment is dispensed with, the sponge is set off 
quite hot, but never scalding, and enough sponge 
made to wet up the dough with, as in French bread 
{which see). With this exception, the way of set- 
ting the sponge, then, is as follows: Add to one 
pail of ferment, as described, two pails of water, of 
ordinary temperature in summer, and blood-warm 
in winter ; mix, and strain into the prepared bay in 
the trough; mix into a fair dough, not too stiff; re- 
place the cover ; and, when ready, use it. This is 
sufficient for about 140 pounds of good flour, or 
five-sevenths of a barrel. 



II.— MIXTUKE OF FLOUES. 

It is customary to buy of the dealer barrels of 
what is known to bakers as a trade mixture. It 
answers very well for a novice in the business, but, 
gradually, as experience is acquired in buying, it is 
far better to " make " the mixture to suit the needs 
of the class of customers you serve. 

In making the mixture, it must be carefully cal- 
culated. We will suppose you can afford to spend 
eight dollars per barrel, each barrel producing an 
average, through a batch of mixed sizes and shapes, 
of from a hundred and fifty to a hundred and fifty- 
five ten cent loaves. 

The quantity to be used is ascertained as follows : 
Suppose you wish to make a mixture worth eight 
dollars from four brands, worth, respectivel}^ ten, 
nine, seven and five dollars, and desire to know 



B60 TflE HOME MKCHANIO. 

how much of each must be takeu. Set down the 
$8 on one side of a line, and all the other prices in 
the other, thus : 



8 



10— 
9— 
7— 
5— 



Nowconnect the largest price with the smaller, 
as you see above ; then the next largest with the 
next to the smallest, as above. Now take the dif- 
ference between the smallest price (5) and the price 
wanted (8), and set it opposite the figure with 
which it is connected (10) ; the difference is 3. 
Then take the difference between the price wanted 
(8) and the largest pi'ice (10), and set this difference 
opposite the number (5) with which it is joined; do 
the same with the next largest figures ; the numbers 
opposite the figures give the barrels required at 
that price to make a mixture at 8. By halving the 
quantity, you preserve the same proportion, and 
keep the same price. The matter is easily proved: 

3 barrels at $10 $30 

1 " " 9 9 

1 " " 7 7 

2 " " 5. 10 

7 " " $56=$8 00 

The TYiethod by which this is worked out is called 
alligation, and may be found in most arithmetics. 
For a shilling or two the baker could make himself 
quite familiar with the rule, which might become 
very useful to him. 



III.— THE BIN. 

The flour is usually mixed in a bin built for the 
purpose. The following figure is about the usual 
dimensions. It is 8 ft. long, 3^ ft. high, 5 ft. wide. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



501 



Each of the varieties of flour are eraptied into 
the bin, separate in the proper proportions, and 
carefully spread out level. They are now mixed by 




Fig. 1.— The Bin. 



cutting evenly from the back to the front, and turn- 
ing over, or it is left until it is scooped out to use, 
when the same method is pursued in cutting. Sift 
all flour, not by rubbing, but by shaking. The bin 
is for DRY flour only. 



IV.— THE DOUGH. 

Having the flour in the trough, draw ine bulk of 
the flour towards one end of the trough ; then com- 




FiG. 2.— The Trough.^ 

mence at a point of about a third of its length, to 
press the flour down on the bottom and corners; 



663 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

now insert the hay hoards and press it down to the 
bottom firmly, when yon will discover that, by tak- 
ing the precaution of pressing the flour down, a hard 
bank is made, able to resist the water breaking 
through w^hen time comes to hreak up the sponge, 
and quite a support to the bay board. The sponge 
is made inside the bay, as described in Section I., 
p. 13. No change is observed in its appearance for 
at least a quarter of the whole time in which it takes 
to come, when it gradually — almost imperceptibly at 
first — enlarges its bulk, until it has developed its full 
size, Its surface then assumes a shining appear- 
ance, and becomes level ; in a little while it shows 
a disposition to sink gently toward the middle ; this 




Fig. 3.— The Bat Boaed. 

is the TURN, which, gradually increasing, causes the 
whole surface to sink to the depth of nearly an inch ; 
this is the first drop ; it rises soon again almost to 
the same height as before, and falls; this is the 
SECOND DROP, which is seldom used in this country. 
After this it rapidly spoils, getting sour, by reason 
of its generating a superabundance of carbonic acid 
gas, acetic, formic, and butyric acids ; the starch is 
converted into sugar and alcohol, the gluten com- 
pletely breaks down ; in short, it is worthless. 

As shown in Section I, the sponge contains three 
pails of water. "When the sponge is at the first 
drop, pour in a pail and half more water, with eight 
ounces of salt to the pail dissolved in it. If desir- 
able to use warm water (as in winter) at any stage 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 563 

of the proceedings, it is best to use it in setting the 
sponge, and cool water when mixing the dough. 
Thoroughly break up the sponge, remove the bay 
board, scrape it off, and proceed to make the dough. 
After "shaking in " (sifting in the flour), haul it to 
a heap, scrape the end, turn it over twice, and, 
throughout the whole making, well Tcnead it. In 
spite of what is said against it, I again say, well 
knead it. The grain of the bread is improved, and 
the loaf is better for it in every way. The dough 
may now be left from a half hour in summer to two 
in winter to (so-called) rise. 



Y.— HOME-MADE BREAD. 

When the dough is ready, scale as many loaves, 
one pound and six ounces each, as may be needed ; 
mould them round, and lay in the boxes ; when all 
the dough is scaled out, and in boxes, proceed to 




Fig. 4. — The Bread Pan. 



mould them long, and lay in a bread-pan, two loaves 
deep, end to end, and six in a row, twelve in all, to 
prove, ^o prove means only to rise, the idea being 
that the rising of the \oQil proves ihdX the ferment has 
been, and still is, doing its duty in lightening the 
bread. When this process has gone far enough, the 
bread is subjected to the heat of the oven, w^hicli 
checks any further rising by driving off the carbonic 
acid gas ; the passing off of ^hich causes the holes in 



564 THE HOME MECHANIC. ^ 

bread, and its consequent lightness. Some bakers are 
of the opinion that "prove" is a corruption of the 
word "improve," as if the rising allowed the bread, 
after moulding, was an improvement or bettering of 
its condition. The writer of this thinks the latter the 
proper explanation. When the loaves do not prove 
rapidly enough, cover with a blanket or cloth. Eight- 
cent home-made are scaled 17 ounces ; five-cent 
home-made are scaled 12 ounces. 



VI.— CKEAM BKEAD. 

3 pails of sponge ; 

3 pounds melted lard; 

2 " " butter. 

These must be melted with very moderate heat. 
Add to the sponge when breaking up. Then add 
1-^ pails of water, with 
12 ounces salt, and 

3 " sugar (brown or coffee crushed) 
dissolved therein. Make the dough as usual, work- 
ing well, and allowing it to stand half an hour. Scale 
from 24 to 28 ounces, mould round, put into the tins, 
and thence into the proving box for ten to fifteen 
minutes. It sells for 12 cents, except when scaled 
lighter; 20 ounces are sold in some neighborhoods 
for 10 cents; in some neighborhoods, however, it sells 
for 10 cents when it is scaled 1 pound 3 ounces. 



VII.— TWIST BEEAD. 

As much home-made bread dough as may be need- 
ed is taken, and stiffened with flour, and scaled out 
a pound and a half for 12 cents. As it is scaled, 
each piece is broken into two unequal parts, both 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



565 



parts divided in three pieces, braided, tlie surface 
of the larger one washed with water, the other piece 



Fig, 5. — The Peel. 



laid on it, and, as they are made, placed on the 
" peel " and put into the oven at once. 



YIII.— SPLIT BEEAD. 

Scale off one pound and six ounces home-made 
bread dough ; mould them into the boxes ; when al- 
most ready to peel, mould in shape of home-made, 




Fig. 6.— The Pin. 
(2 ft. long, )4. i^- diameter. For making split loaves and rolls.) 

lengthwise of the loaf, and with the pin (Fig. 6) 
split clear down to the board, pass a grease brush 



Fig. 7. — The Grease Brush. 

in the split, lay on the tin, end to end, like home- 
made, passing the brush between each side and end, 
and set in the oven after a few minutes' proof. (The 
brush is dipped in melted lard.) 



IX.— GEAHAM BEEAD. 

Take out as much sponge as may be needed ; to 
every pail add half a pint of molasses ; make the 



566 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



dougli with unsifted Graliam flour; scale eacli ten 
cent loaf a pound and 8 ounces, and mould at once 
in the tins. 



X.— EYE BKEAD. 

Take as much sponge as needed; to each pail 
allow six ounces of coffee-crushed sugar, and make 
the dough with rye flour; make about the ordinary 
size; scale it off 1 pound 4 ounces; mould them 
round; lay in boxes, and, when ready to "peel" 
them, mould them long and tapering at the ends; 
when on the " peel," cut them across three times, 
and brush over with milk or water. 



I XI.— BOSTON BKOWN BKEAD. 

Make a strong ferment of two quarts of potatoes, 
a quart of yeast, two pounds of flour, and a pail of 
water ; mix in a trough ten bin-scoops of yellow In- 
dian meal, eight of rye flour, and three of flour and 
two of Graham; mix, make a bay (Section Y). Add 
to the ferment half a pail more water; strain into 
the bay, and set sponge ; take it at first drop, make 
dough soft, and scale one pound and eight ounces 
for 10 cents. Fill the tins at once, and bake two 
hours in a slow oven. 

Boston Bkown Bread, No. 2. — Ferment as in pre- 
vious recipe. Have ready six hours before setting 
sponge. For sponge and dough use equal parts of 
rye and yellow Indian meal. Set the sponge, and, 
when ready, which will be perceived by the breaks 
on the surface of the sponge, add three quarts wa- 
ter, five quarts molasses, five ounces soda, seven 
ounces salt, and sufiicient rj^e and Indian to make a 
thin dough. Put into the tins, bake with the top on 
in a slack or exhausted oven five or six hours. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 667 

Boston Brown Bread, No. 3. — Sixteen pounds 
rye flour, 32 pounds Indian meal (yellow), 8 pounds 
Graham flour, 1 quart molasses, 4 quarts ferment as 
in No. 1 ; mix stiff with lukewarm water ; cover with 
cloth, and allow to stand ten hours; put into 
mould, and bake five to six hours ; take the cloth 
off, if it comes too rapidly. 



XII.— FEENCH BKEAD (Ordinary Dough). 

Make a strong ferment of 2 quarts of potatoes 
and 3 quarts of yeast, scalding 5 pounds of sifted 
flour with the liquor which the potatoes were boiled 
in ; pound together fine, and dilute with 2 pails of 
water according to temperature; add to it, at the 
end of six hours, 3 pails of water; make the sponge 
average size, and give it a full "first drop," and 
make the dough fairly stiff, vdthout adding any 
more water; let it " come " well, take it up and well 
knead it. It is then ready for any of the following 
varieties of French bread : 

French Eolls. — Break pieces off the French 
bread dough of the size of an egg ; dust the board ; 
mould under the hands ; lay up in roils, and cover 
with a cloth as fast as laid out. When as many are 
moulded as are needed, lay the cloth on the boxes ; 
wash the tops of the rolls with melted lard : draw 
the rolls, two at a time, to the edge of the bench, 
and with the pin press them in the centre clear 
down to the wood; reverse them, and lay them four 
in a row in the box or a cloth ; draw up the cloth 
to form a division between each row, and repeat 
until the whole of the rolls are completed ; lay them 
in a warm situation ten to fifteen minutes to prove ; 
peel, and set them on the oven bottom. 

Split French. — Scale of French bread dough, 
one pound four ounces for ten-cent loaves; mould 
them round, dust the board, lay out, and cover ; 



.*>66 



THE HOMBJ MECHANIC. 



when all are moulded, mould again into loaves six- 
teen inches long, tapering at each end; wash with 
melted lard, dust the board with white Indian meal, 
and with the pin press in the centre of the loaf 
down to the board, and roll just a little — say out an 
inch; reverse, and lay out on cloths (as for the 
rolls); when about to peel, take the loaves up on a 
thin piece of wood twenty inches long, six broad, 
and half an inch thick, and slide off on the peel, 
and bake on the oven bottom. 

FUTE. — Scale French bread dough one pound 
five ounces; well grease (he pans; as fast as scaled 
out, roll out under the hands to the length of the 
pans; lay them in, and, when ^'proved enough," 
set in the oven. 




Fig. 8. — French Bread Box. 
(18 in. long, 8 in. wide and 4)^ in. high.) 

Feench, No. 3. — Scale French bread dough one 
pound four ounces ; mould them long, thirty inches ; 
lay on the cloth in boxes; when on the peel, cut 
three times, obliquely, with a sharp knife; wash 
over with milk and put into the oven. 



XIII.— THE OVEN. 

The same construction of oven is used in Ameri- 
can and French bread ; constructed to burn coal or 
wood. 

There are many methods of determining the heat 
of the oven. The most usual is by the area of white 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



569 



heat that appears on the walls and crown, and, as 
the oveus differ in height and surface area, it is 
very dilficult, and almost dangerous, to give rules 



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Fig. 9 is front elevation. 1 shows the ash-pit ; 2, the oven 
door ; 3, the rod to valve to clear the oven of smoke and steam ; 
4, the rod to valve of chimney flue. 




Fig. 10 is the interior of oven with outline of oven door • the 
position of bars (2), and chimney (.3); 1. t^io orov/n ; 4 4 4 the 
bottom. » • ' I 



570 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

of advice about this question. Nothing but experi- 
ence and close attention to each oven as to what it 
can do, and how it does it, will determine the rules 
to be applied to individual cases. In ordinary 
ovens, 510° to 612'' Fahrenheit is considered a 
proper heat to begin on, as it drops some thirty 
degrees during a baking. The rule of thumb used 
by bakers is to sprinkle some flour as far in as can be 
plainly seen from the mouth. If it turns a yellow 
brown, it is too hot ; if it remains pale, it wants 
heat. When the oven is considered hot, it is mopped 
out with a piece of sacking tied to the end of a stout 
pole, dipped in clear water, and swung round on the 
oven bottom, washed once or twice ; when the oven 
is considered clean, and cooled down, the door is 
shut up tight, and the heat diffused evenly through 
the oven ; it is then ready to fill. 



XIY.— FILLING THE OYEN. 

The large pans of home-made bread are placed 
around the walls of the oven, the tinned loaves next, 
and the middle filled in with twist, smaller home- 
made, etc., and the fire is well banked up with old 
tins, pieces of thick iron, etc., to keep the flush from 
spreading over the crust of the bread. 



XV.— VIENNA BKEADS. 

Sponge and Dough. — Dissolve eight ounces com- 
pressed yeast in sixteen quarts milk (at 90°) and suf- 
ficient flour to make a thin sponge. In about two 
hours the sponge will be ready. At this point add 
eight quarts milk, containing one pound of salt, to 
the sponge, work up well, and then add flour for your 
dough, kneading well. When done allow to stand 
an hour and a half. This dough is used for the 
following shapes of bread, most of which are now 
very popular here : 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



571 



Seven varieties of this are small bread, and two 
of large bread, as follows: Kaiser-Semmel (lady 
loaves), Saltz-Kipfel, Milch-Kip f el, Lutter-Strizl, 
Mohn-Strizl, Kipfel and Kaiser-Kipf el ; Large Vi- 
enna and French (of Vienna bread dough). 




Fig. 11. — Vienna Beeads. 
1, Kaiser-Semmel; 2, Milch-Kipfel; 3, Saltz-Kipfel; 4, 4, 4, 
Lutter-Strizl; 5, Mohn-Strizl; 6, Vienna-Kipfel; 7, Kaiser-Kipf el; 
8, French Bread. 



XVI.— OVEN FOR VIENNA BREAD. 

Previous to giving the mode of preparing these, 
we will say a word on ovens for this kind of bread. 
The bottom slants about six inches toward the front, 
fitted with a balance sliding door, and the oven is 
from 11 to 12 deep from front to back. Gas for illu- 
minating the oven is admitted by means of the aper- 
ture, the top of the burner being at a level with the 
bottom of oven. The oven is heated with wood, and 
cleaned in the usual manner, after which a piece of 
wood an inch and a half thick, and long enough to 
reach down to within four inches of the bottom of 
the door, is fitted in. This is to prevent the escape of 
steam. The three valves are for use as follows : 



573 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



Damper, connected with the chimney flue to emp- 
ty the oven of steam, the other communicating with 
the stop-valve of the water-drum at the back. It 
consists of a conical boiler, built in the back wall, 
having a perforated iron pipe running across the 
oven. When the valve-rod is drawn, the hot water 
from the drum drops on the oven bottom, and so 
makes the steam needed to produce the surface 
gloss so much desired. 

The steam is the active agent in producing the 
golden crust, and hence this result may be attained 




Fig. 12 is the front elevation of oven. '1, 1, 1 is iron work; 2, 
the sliding door; 7,7, the grooves in which it works; 3, the bal- 
ance weight; 8,8, wheels on which the chain works; 4, aperture to 
admit gas; 5,5, level of oven bottom; 6, 6, 6, 6, the level of floor of 
bake shop; 9, valve-rod to clear the oven of steam; 10, valve-rod 
to drum; 11, valve-rod to chimney. 

without such an elaborate oven as above. Small 
bakeries have succeeded very well by merely putting 
in the oven a small quantity of clean wet straw. 

The Kaisek-Semmel. — The Kaiser-Semmel weigh 
eight to the pound ; after being moulded under the 
hand, a loaf is flattened with the heel of the right 
hand, while with the left hand it is turned round ; 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



573 



after each stroke the loaf is turned over, the thumb 
of the left hand is placed at the centre of the loaf, and 
a fold completely turned over it ; the heel of the right 
hand strikes a gentle blow at the side and parallel 
with the thumb, and another fold turned over, until 
five folds have been made, when the little end of 
dough left at the last fold is turned in the opening 
eft by the removal of the thumb ; they are now re- 




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Fig. 13 shows the back elevation of oven, with 1, the exposed 
end of water drum; 2. the water pipe from connection; 3, the 
faucet. 




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Fig. 14 shows section with interior end of drum, 1; 2,2, crown; 
3, 3, iron perforated pipe; 4, 4, bottom level; 5, valve-rod to open 
and shut valve to pipe (6). 

versed on a cloth in a box until "proved," when they 
are taken to the oven, " set " on the bottom, the 
door closed, and the valve opened in the drum, and 



574 ' THE HOME MECHANIC. 

the oven filled with steam. lu about seven min- 
utes they will be ready, when, as they are taken out, 
they are washed over with milk. 

The Milk-Kipfel is made of the same dough as 
the Kaiser-Semmel. Weigh them ten to the pound. 
After moulding under the hand,they are driven in one 
direction as thin as possible; then, holding one end in 
the left hand, the right is employed in rolling them 
as light as possible, pressing as well as rolling to 
make them long in proportion ; then, when all are 
made, lay them in the shajoe shown at plate on tins : 
when " proved " a few minutes, bake on the tins. 

Saltz-Kipfel. — Proceed as directed for milk-kip- 
fel, weighed twelve to the pound, sprinkling coarse 
table salt and caraway seed in equal quantities on 
their surface, previously well washing with milk to 
make them stick ; when "proved," bake. 

Lutter-Strizl. — These are weighed eight to the 
pound, and made as Figs. 4, 4, 4; lay up on tins, 
and wash ; as soon as " come," bake as usual. 

Mohn-Strizl. — Weighed ten to the pound ; divide 
each in half; roll out under the hands about three 
and a half inches; then cross them in the center of 
each, which will make four ends, and braid ; lay up 
on a tin; wash and cover with moKn (poppy) seed; 
when " proved," bake as usual. 

YiENNA KiPFEL. — To six pounds of dough, when 
made, rub in a pound of good butter ; when ready, 
weigh sixteen to the pound, and proceed as direct- 
ed for milk-hijpfel. 

Kaiser-Semmel. — Proceed as directed for Vienna 
kipfel, only, in laying on the tins, draw the ends al- 
most together, as shown at Fig. 11. 

French Bread (of Vienna Bread Dough). — Weigh 
one and a quarter pounds, and proceed as directed 
for French bread in Section XII. Sell at 10 cents. 

Vienna Bread. — Weigh one and a quarter pounds; 
mould sharp at each end, and lay a strip of dough 



>* '_s THE HOME MECHANIC. 575 

along the top, and fasten at each end; when "come," 
bake on the oven bottom. 

Vienna Bread, No. 2. — Weigh out the dough into 
pieces of one and a quarter pounds ; roll out so as 
to be thick in center, and bluntly pointed at each 
end ; allow ten minutes to " prove ; " cut three cuts 
diagonally across the top. This is the most ap- 
proved New York style. 



XYII.— GEISINI (Italian Bread.) 

Mix the dough off-hand ; to each quart of milk, 
at 100°, allow an ounce of yeast, half an ounce of 
salt, and two ounces of butter (melted) ; mix into a 
firm dough ; then roll thin ; cut into long strips, 
four inches wide ; then roll up tight to the thickness 
of a lead-pencil ; lay on the tins, and set in a warm 
place to rise for two hours and a half ; bake in a 
sharp oven a light color. 



XVIII.— GEAHAM BEEAD (No. 2). 

Of ordinary sponge take one ten-quart pail; add 
one-half a pail of water, three-fourths of a pint of mo- 
lasses, and eight ounces of salt, and mix thoroughly ; 
then add Graham meal sufficient to make a thin 
dough ; let it stand until risen ; form at once into 
loaves; put into the moulds and allow to "prove" 
but a few minutes, as it is apt to sour quicker than 
flour bread. (See also No. 10.) 



XIX.— OAT MEAL BEEAD 

As Graham bread. 



XX.— WHEAT AND INDIAN. 

In many parts of the country this is preferred, 
especially by laboring men, to finer bread. It is best 



576 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

made by taking sponge, after it lias been thinned 
with water, as mentioned in Section I. on " Sponge," 
then making a thin dough with half wheat flour and 
half scalded Indian meal. One ten-quart pail of thin 
sponge will require six ounces of salt. Then allow 
to rise ; mould into large round or square loaves ; 
" prove '' five to ten minutes, and bake one and a 
half to two hours — the longer the better. 



XXI.— RYE AND INDIAN. 

Bye and Indian is managed in the same way, 
using the ordinary sponge. 



XXII.— ASTOR HOUSE ROLLS. 

Into two quarts of flour put a piece of butter size 
of an egg, a little salt, one tablespoonful of white 
sugar, one pint of milk, scalded and added while 
warm, half a cup of 3'east, or one small cake. When 
the sponge is light, mould for fifteen minutes ; let 
rise again, roll out, cut into round cakes ; w^hen 
light flatten with the hand or rolling-pin, place a 
piece of butter on top, and fold each over itself ; 
when light, bake in a quick oven. 



XXIII.— MUFFINS. 

Of late years a large trade has sprung up in the 
Atlantic cities in muffins, particularly among people 
of English birth. Its companion, the crumpet, has 
also been introduced, but has not proved so popular. 
We will, however, give the method of making both. 

To make these in perfection, it is essential that 
the flour should be of the best kind, and rather not 
too new. The following is the English method for 
'rmiffins. 

To each quart of water, which should be about the 
warmth of new milk, or from 70° to 80° of Fahren- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 577 

heit's thermometer, add one ounce of German yeast, 
one ounce of salt, and about three and one-half 
pounds of flour, or rather more if it is of weak quality. 
Mix well together in a tub or pan, and beat the dough 
well up with a stick until it becomes smooth and 
tough. Then set it aside in a warm place, covered 
with a thick cloth or flannel. When the dough has 
risen about three or four inches, beat it well up again 
with the stick as before, and set it aside to rise about 
six inches, taking care that it is well covered, and 
in a warm place. It will be then ready to turn out. 

When brewer's or small-beer yeast is employed, 
use a quarter of a pint or rather more to each quart 
of water, with an ounce of salt. Proceed in the 
same way as directed for German yeast in the para- 
graph above. 

To Form the Muffins. — When the dough is ready, 
proceed to *' turn them out " by forming pieces of 
dough of about four ounces into round smooth balls 
in the bowl of a wooden spoon, with a knife. The 
spoon is to be held in the left hand, and the knife 
in the right ; the dough is then taken up in small 
portions with the spoon, separated with the knife, 
and formed into balls, all which require considerable 
dexterity and practice to accomplish. As these are 
formed, they are scooped out of the spoon with the 
knife, and laid in rows, about three inches asunder, 
in shallow boxes about half filled with flour, and 
holes made in it with a piece of wood, about an inch 
and a half or two inches deep, to prove. 

Instead of the boxes half filled with flour, some 
prefer the bottom of the boxes to be covered with a 
piece of sack, which they well dust with flour, and 
lay the muffins on it as they are formed. Each box 
should contain from two dozen and a half to three 
dozen of muffins, and, as each one is filled, it should 
be covered by another, until the whole of the dough 
is disposed of in this manner, 



578 the; HOME MECHANIC. v » 

When til e last box is filled, the first " turned out' 
in general are near about, if not quite, ready to be 
baked. When German yeast is used, this is mostly 
the case, but with small-beer yeast they may have 
to remain close covered in a warm place for a short 
time before being sufficiently proved to admit of 
their being baked. 

To Bake Muffins. — While the muffins are being • 
prepared thus far, the stove should have been heat- 
ing, so as to be hot by the time they are proved ; 
but before describing the method of baking them, 
it will be necessary to give a little advice with re- 
gard to the stove. For this purpose, we will suppose 
that the stove, as is usually the case, has not been 
used for the summer, or during the time that muf- 
fins are considered out of season. It will therefore 
be dirty, and not fit for immediate use. 

To Clean the Stove, proceed thus: Have some fine 
sand, such as is strewed over floors, or mixed with 
mortar, and place a handful over the top; moisten it 
with water, and, with a piece of pumice stone or a 
brick rub it well all over for nearly half an hour ; 
then wash off the sand, wipe the plate dry, and pro- 
ceed to heat it. When it is nearly hot, sprinkle 
some salt over the plate, and give it another good 
rubbing with a piece of old sack. Brush the salt 
off clean, and it will be then fit to bake on. 

To know when the stove is hot enough for bak- 
ing, sprinkle the plate lightly with flour, and on 
those places where it turns a fine brown or gold 
color, it is there hot enough to bake on ; where it 
burns quickly it is too hot. Some ashes should then 
be put on the fire over the place where the heat is 
too much. The stove being heated to 405° or 410° 
Fahrenheit, brush off the flour, and proceed to 
bake them. Take them from the tra^^s, one at a 
time ; throw them from one hand to the other gent- 
ly on the open fingers, two or three times, so as to 



< ■ / , THE HOME MECHANIC. 579 

deprive them of as much flour as possible that may 
be adhering to the bottom, and drop them with the 
flour side downward. Put them in rows, so as not 
to touch each other, on flat sheets of tin, which may 
be taken up by the peel as required, and when 
bladders appear on the top, ready to break, pro- 
ceed to turn each of them at that point over on 
their unbaked surface. In doing this, use a broad, 
long pallet knife to take them up with, and be care- 
ful to turn them on to a clean place ; if on the spot 
a muflin has just been removed from, be careful 
to first brush off the flour. Proceed in this manner 
until the whole are finished. 

Before being offered for sale, scrape and brush 
the bottoms free from flour; using, for this purpose, 
a brush similar to a clothes or shining brush for 
shoes. 

Muffins are here, and often in Europe, baked in 
tin rings and in the ordinary oven. 



XXIV.— CEUMPETS. 

These are not so difficult to make as muffins, yet 
there is required considerable practice to produce 
good ones. Cleanliness is essentially necessary, as 
they take up every particle of dirt that may be 
about the oven or hoops. 

The modern crumpets are all baked in shallo 
tin hoops. 

To Season and Prepare New Hoops. — Put them 
into a pot or saucepan with clean water to cover 
them, and a handful of salt ; let them boil for five 
minutes ; then take them off, and allow them to cool 
in the water; next pour off the water, wipe them 
dry, and rub over the inside of each hoop with a 
little sweet-oil, melted lard or butter, and they will 
be ready for use; at first they will require a little 



680 THE HOME MECHANIC. * A v 

more butter or lard to be rubbed over the inside 
than after they have been used for baking two or 
three times, as the metal then becomes impregnat- 
ed with the oil or grease used ; afterwards a small 
portion only is required to be used each time of 
baking in them. 

To Make Crumpets. — To each gallon of warm 
water, add four ounces of salt, one-half pint of 
small-beer yeast, or from two to three ounces of 
German yeast, with ten to twelve pounds of flour. 
Mix into a smooth batter, stirring it well with a stick; 
let it stand close covered in a warm place to *'work 
through " like a ferment ; then stir it down, let it 
rise again, and then proceed to hake them. This is 
usually done after the muffins are all done, and the 
stove at a good heat for baking ; buu in order to 
ascertain if it is so, dip the crumpet ladle in the 
batter, and with what there may be adhering to it, 
dab the stove all over in little spots; where the bat- 
ter is of a fine gold color, place the crumpets : but 
those places where it is burnt will be too hot ; the 
best heat for baking them is 350° Fahrenheit. 

Before placing on the hoops, see that the stove is 
perfectly clean ; then put them on in rows nearly 
touching each other, and j^ut into each hoop a 
ladlef ul of batter ; when the bottoms are of a nice 
brown, turn them with the crumpet knife over on 
the other side ; in about two or three minutes they 
will then be done, when they are to be taken off 
with the knife, and placed on a table or board by 
the side with the hoops ; after they have cooled a 
little, take out the crumpets, and rub the hoops 
over with a little oil or melted lard for another 
baking. If, in the baking of them, the crumpets 
c\re *'too rash" — that is, too light or free — stir the 
batter every two or three rounds. 

When muffins are wanted in large quantities, the 
range or stove must be arranged accordingly. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 581 

XXV.— BUNS AND EUSKS. 

Buns and rusks are more popular in England, but 
there are parts of this country where they sell well. 
We give the Loudon methods first, and will after- 
wards give the plans used here, which are less par- 
ticular. 

liemarks. — In the manufacture of buns or cakes, 
observe that more yeast must be added, in propor- 
tion as the mixture is " richer " than plain bread or 
roll dough. The extra ingredients which may be 
added to the flour require more to raise it and 
make it light, particularly butter, as anything of the 
nature of fat or grease hinders fermentation ; there- 
fore more is required to counteract it; a little sugar 
accelerates it. An excess of sugar hinders fermen- 
tation, as it acts as a preservative, unless it is acted 
on with more yeast, and mixed with other substances. 

Strong-beer yeast that will produce good bread 
will not make good buns, and contra; this is fre- 
quently occasioned by the bitter quality of strong 
beer yeast, when sufficient cannot be added to meet 
the exigencies of the case without imparting to it a 
disagreeable flavor. Small-beer or German yeast 
may be used more freely, especially the latter, care 
being taken not to use too much to make them 
" rank;" that is, too light. Two ounces of this, when 
fresh, are sufficient for a quart of milk, when made 
into buns of the usual quality. When no butter or 
sugar is added, one -half of this quantity will be 
enough; observe, in summer time rather more should 
be used, as it is then frequently out of condition ; 
the same should be done when it is rather stale. 

With small-beer yeast, much will depend on its 
quality, which varies very materially; in general, 
about half a pint will serve for the quantity here 
named, but experience alone can determine it with 
exactness. Yeast that is so bitter as to render it un- 
fit for use should be "vv^nshed." This is done by 
pouring on it a quantity of clean cold water in a pan 



582 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

or pail, and then letting it settle ; the yeast will fall 
to the bottom, and the water is then . to be poured 
off, and, if required, treated a second or third time in 
the same manner, when it is considered fit for use. 

Care should be taken that the water or milk is not 
so hot as to scald the yeast, as that would render 
rusks quite heavy ; the same observation holds good 
with respect to the flour, for, if that is scalded, the 
same effect is produced, although the yeast may not 
be so ; for the gluten of the flour is injured by it, 
and the starch is converted into a jelly, so that the 
" life " of the flour, as it is termed, no longer exists 
with it, and the yeast remains almost inactive. The 
gluten has not the power to expand itself, and re- 
ceive the fixed air resulting from the gasefication, 
the surface of the dough will appear in bladders or 
bubbles, and it otherwise looks greasy and flabby, 
having a heavy feel, similar to glaziers' putty. 

In " seasoning " milk for buns with small-beee 
YEAST, when it has not been previously washed, add 
as much as will impart to it a slight taste of the yeast. 
The buns, even then, if they should be rather heavy, 
will at times sell much better than if they are bitter; 
therefore, of two evils, if one must be, choose the 
least. From a quarter to half a pint of good small- 
beer yeast will be required for each quart of milk. 

Observe, — A quart of milk, when made into a 
dough for buns with German yeast, will take about 
four or four and one-half pounds of flour in the 
whole ; and the same quantity of milk with half a 
pint of small beer yeast, will take about five pounds 
of flour. With these rules and remarks, it will be 
unnecessary to mention anything relating to it 
again under the various recipes. 

To Keep German Yeast. — This yeast is so univer- 
sally used in the metropolis, as well as other places, 
that a few words will be necessary on this head. 

1st. Care should be taken that it is not thrown 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 583 

down, or in anywise bruised by falls, or it will be 
spoiled in consequence. 

2d. AVlien the yeast is delivered in a dry state, 
it should be then kept in a cool, damp place ; if in 
a damp condition, in a dry, cool place. 

3d. In summer time this yeast can, for quick use, 
be kept in a good condition for a longer period 
than otherwise, by putting it into cold water (say I 
one pound of yeast to a quart of water), and stand- 
ing it in as cool a place as possible. 

Use it with the water, in the same proportion as 
otherwise ; with the quantity above given, half a pint 
will be equal to a quarter of a pound of dry yeast. 

Plain Buns. — One-half pound of butter, one-half 
pound of sugar, one quart of milk. Or, 

Twelve ounces of butter, twelve ounces of sugar, 
three eggs, one quart of milk, and sufficient flour to 
make a dough. Some prefer the addition of spice, in 
which case, take of caraway, coriander, cassia, and 
allspice, mixed in equal portions and ground, one- 
half ounce ; less allspice and caraway are preferred 
by some, so as not to give the buns so dark a color. 

Warm the milk to about 70° or 80° Fahrenheit's 
thermometer; add the yeast with apart or the whole 
of the sugar, and about six ounces of flour, or suffi- 
cient to make it a weak sponge; mix it well together, 
and put it in a warm place to rise or ferment ; when 
ready, a head will be formed on the top, which will 
be quite flat, leaving a mark round the side of the 
pan or tub, to the height where it has risen and again 
fallen. If you see a white foam coming through the 
head or surface of what has formed on the top of the 
sponge, it has not acquired the proper degree of fer- 
mentation, as it will rise higher ana fall, leaving a 
mark, as already stated. Be very exact on this point, 
as the other process is considerably retarded when 
the first fermentation is not complete; that is, if the 
dough is made before the sponge begins to fall, al- 
though many deny this. Let the sponge have time 



^^^ THE HOME MECHANIC. 

to lie and recover itself until it has a fine cauli- 
flower head, but not before. 

Rub the butter in with about four pounds of flour 
to each quart (in winter it may be melted to an oil, 
but it must not be made scalding hot), make a bay 
with the flour, pour it in with the sponge ; add the 
remaining portion of the sugar and the spice ; mix 
the whole into rather a soft, mellow dough, cover it 
with a cloth and let it prove. When it is ready, 
weigh it in pieces of one pound two ounces each, and 
make six or seven two-cent buns out of each piece, or 
weigh four ounces and a half or five ounces of dough 
for two buns; mould them up lightly under the 
hands, and place them about four inches asunder, 
on warm tins, slightly rubbed over with butter. 

When a tin is full, put it at once into the proving 
oven, or a close closet, similar to a cupboard, having 
racks or bars of wood about four inches asunder, fixed 
in at the back, on which the tin rests. This " prov- 
ing closet" should have two sliding shutters or doors 
in front, the same as a window-sash — the one made 
to slide up and the other down ; the buns are proved 
in it by steam. These closets occasionally have a 
small crock or iron pot fixed at the bottom, or by the 
side, with a fireplace "underneath to heat the water 
and make it boil; a cover or cap is put on, having a 
small pipe in the center; and if it is outside, the pipe 
is bent, so as to convey the steam to tlie bottom of 
the closet ; an old tin is placed next to this, that it 
may be more equally diffused, and also to prevent too 
great a heat injuring the articles which may be placed 
near it ; the steam may be regulated at pleasure, by 
taking off the cap or hood in one case, and by lessen- 
ing the fire in the other. A more rude and simple 
contrivance for heating and steaming the closet is 
often resorted to, which consists in heating several 
large pieces or old bars of iron red hot, in the oven 
fire; these are placed in the bottom, and water is 
thrown over them, which causes a steam. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. ' fi8"i 

Another Method, in common iise in London, for 
proving buns and rusks, is, to place sticks across tlie 
dougli trough at the distance of about four inches, 
one above the other for the tins to rest on. In the 
center is put a tub or pail with a little water in it ; 
into this some red-hot pieces of iron or brick are 
thrown, which create a steam ; the lid is then shut 
close to confine it, and keep in the heat. Where 
bread is baked, some loaves are placed over the bot- 
tom of the trough as soon as they are taken from the 
oven; this answers the purpose admirably, and in 
this case the irons and water are not required. 

When they are put into a proving iron to prove, 
water should first be thrown on the sides and bot- 
tom ; these precautions of creating a steam and ex- 
cluding the air are to prevent the tops of the cakes 
or buns drying, and to keep up the temperature, 
which should be about 100° or 110° of Fahrenheit's 
thermometer, otherwise the surface of the buns or 
cakes would get hard by forming a crust, which 
would crack, spoil their appearance, and prevent 
their expanding to the required size. 

Too much steam and heat will also cause them to 
run, and become flat, neither will they have a bold, 
round appearance ; their edges will be sharp and 
thin, the same as a heavy bun, and the surface will 
often appear ragged and broken; there should be 
just enough steam to keep the surface moist, and 
heat sufficient to raise them, without their being 
dried or hardened. 

The heat should be gradual at first, so as not to 
" force " them too much in the commencement, but 
it may be raised towards the end, if they are re- 
quired in a hurry. 

If steam is not applied, tne tops must be occa- 
sionally washed over witn milk or water. 

When they are sufficiently proved, bake them in 
a hot oven ; as soon as they have a good bottom, 
they are done ; take them out and brush over the 



586 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

tops with egg and milk, or water, mixed together in 
the proportion of two eggs to a half pint, which will 
give them a gloss. 

Currant Buns. — To either of the mixtures for 
plain buns, and one and one-half or two pounds of 
currants, with one-half pound or six ounces of pre- 
served orange and lemon peel, cut in small, thin 
bits; mould them up round under your hands, about 
the same size as the others; either cut them round 
the edge with a knife, or put them on the tins quite 
plain; prove and bake as the last. If they are re- 
quired very rich, the following mixture may be used. 

EiCH Currant Buns. — One pound of butter, one 
pound of yellow sugar, four or five pounds of clean- 
washed and picked currants, one-half pound of can- 
died peel cut small, and one-half ounce of mixed 
spice, one quart of milk, with flour sufficient to make 
the whole into a dough, as before directed; make 
eight penny buns out of one pound of dough. 
' Good Currant Buns. — Four pounds of flour, twelve 
ounces of butter, twelve ounces of sugar, one and 
one-fourth pounds of currants, three cups of lemon 
and orange peel, three small cupfuls of small-beer 
or well-washed strong-beer yeast, or two ounces of 
German yeast, and sufficient warm milk for the 
sponge and dough ; about a quart in the whole. 

Balmoral Cakes. — Three and one-half pounds of 
flour, one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, five 
eggs, nearly a quart of milk, a few caraway seeds, 
with one and one-half ounce of carbonate of soda 
and tartaric acid, mixed in the proportion of one 
ounce of soda to three-fourths of an ounce of acid. 
Mix the soda and acid well with the flour, then rub 
in the butter and sugar ; make a bay with the flour, 
add the seed, beat up the eggs with the milk, and 
make the whole into a dough. Put into outtered 
pans, according to the size, dust with powdered 
loaf sugar, and bake in a moderate oven. 

Balloon or Prussia v Cakes. — Take currant bun 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 587 

dough, and make into a round, flat cake of any re- 
quired size, and place it on a buttered tin. "Wlien it 
is about half proved, divide it equally into any 
number of parts with a long, flat piece of wood, 
having a thin, graduated edge, and place it again to 
prove ; when it is proved enough, brush over the 
top lightly with the white of an egg whisked to a 
strong froth; dust it with finely-powdered loaf- 
sugar, and sprinkle it with water just sufficient W 
moisten the sugar. Bake in rather a cool oven, to 
prevent the icing getting too much colored. 

Chelsea Buns. — Take plain bun dough, or, if they 
are for common use, bread dough ; roll it out in a 
sheet, break some firm butter in small bits, and place 
over it, fold it up, and roll it out as you would paste; 
after you have given it two or three turns, moisten 
the surface of the dough, and strew over it some 
moist sugar, roll up the sheet into a roll and cut it 
in slices, or cut the dough in strips of the required 
size, and turn them round, place them on a buttered 
tin that has edges, about one-half inch from each 
other; prove them well, and bake in a moderate 
oven. You may dust the tops with loaf-sugar either 
before or after they are baked. The quantity of in- 
gredients used must be regulated according to the 
richness the buns are required; one-half pound of 
butter and the same quantity of sugar, with four 
pounds of dough, will make a good bun. When 
bun dough is used, half this quantity of sugar will 
be sufficient, and some omit it altogether. 

Another. — Five quarts of bread dough, one 
pound of butter, and one pound of sugar ; or, six 
ounces of butter and six ounce of sugar to each 
two quarts of dough, and proceea as before. 

Cross Buns. — Take eight quarts of warm milk, 
and set a sponge, with four pounas of yellow sugar, 
and sufficient yeast and flour; when the sponge has 
risen and fallen, add four quarts of warm water, and 
either two or four pounds move sugar, ?iud four or gix 



588 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ounces of mixed spice. In the meantime, rub six or 
eight pounds of butter into some flour, and mix the 
whole into a nice, mellow dough. When it has laid 
about half an hour, make it into buns as directed for 
plain ones, and place them on warm tins. As soon 
as they are half proved, cross them with a cross made 
of tin, with the sides forming two sides of a triangle, 
which is fixed into a round plate with a handle on the 
top ; this is much better than those made with two 
straight pieces crossed. The cross should be about 
two inches and three-quarters long, that it maj not 
separate the buns at the edges ; gii^e it a twist, so as 
to open and completely divide them in the center. 
Wash them with milk, and finish proving them ; bake 
them in a hot oven, and wash over the tops again 
when they are done with egg and milk. If 3'ou have 
not convenience to make a batch of this size, make 
one-half or one-third the quantity, as it is always bet- 
ter to make two small batches than let the dough lie 
and get cold, which wastes time, and they are not 
then so good. Some of the batches will require to 
have currants in them ; in this case add from ten to 
fourteen pounds of currants to this quantity. 

Bath Buns. — One pound of flour, eight ounces of 
butter, eight ounces of loaf-sugar, four eggs, a little 
warm milk, one ounce of German yeast, or one-half 
or three-fourths of a teacupful of small-beer yeast, 
some citron peel, cut small, and one^half a nutmeg 
grated; this will make fourteen twopenny buns. 

Or, two pounds of flour, three-fourths pound of 
butter, three-fourth pound of loaf-sugar, six or eight 
eggs, a little milk, candied peel and yeast. Rub the 
butter in with the flour, make a bay, and break in 
the eggs, add the yeast, with sufficient milk to make 
the whole into a dough of moderate consistence, 
and put it in a warm place to prove ; when it has 
risen enough, mix in the peel, a little essence of 
lemon, and the sugar, which should be in small 
knobs about the size of peas ; this is best done by 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 5S9 

chopping it with a kuife, which will make the dough 
jagged or ragged; then with a kuife or spoon di- 
vide it into pieces for buns, and put them on a clean, 
tin, not buttered, about four inches asunder ; let 
the surface be rough and uneven ; the tops may be 
washed with egg and dusted with loaf-sug'n-; put a 
few caraway comfits on the top of each, prove them 
in a gentle heat, but not so much as you would 
buns, and bake them in a moderately warm oven ; 
when they are about half done, put a tin or two 
under them, to prevent the bottoms being burnt. 

Sally Luns — Yorkshire or Tea Cakes. — One 
quart of milk, one-half pound of butter, one-fourth 
pound of loaf-sugar, and flour. 

Or, one quart of milk, one pound of butter, one- 
fourth pound of sugar, with flour sufficient to make 
the whole into a dough. 

Set sponge and make into a dough as for buns, 
butter some rings or hoops, and place them on but- 
tered tins; weigh each twopenny cake either five or 
six ounces, mould them up round, put them in the 
hoops, and flatten them a little with your hand. 
When they are about half or three parts proof, 
make a hole in the middle of each with a stout 
piece of wire or stick; finish proving them, but do 
not let them be too much proved, as they will then 
eat poor and dry. Bake them in a moderately brisk 
oven ; when they are done, which will be in about 
ten or fifteen minutes, take off the hoops, and brush 
the tops over with egg and milk as for buns. 

Tea cakes are made nearly the same, the differ- 
ence being that they are rolled out flatter, and are 
not put into hoops. These do not require quite so 
much proof as the Sally Luns. 

Milk Eolls, or Queen's Breakfast Eolls. — 
One pint of milk, five or six eggs. 

Or, one pint of milk, one-half pint of eggs, a little 
salt, six ounces of butter, and three-fourths ounce 
of German yeast. 



•'>90 TflE HOME MECHANIC. 

Set sponge and make into a dough as for buns ; 
when the dough is proved enough, weigh it in pieces 
of three ounces; mould thenoi round, place them on 
boards or trays, dusted with flour, about three inches 
asunder, that they may not touch each other ; prove 
them nicely, but not too much ; put six or eight of 
them on a large biscuit peel, and keep them separate; 
cut each about half-way through the center with a . 
sharp, thin knife, and bake them in rather a quick 
oven on the bottom. When done, brush off the flour 
from the bottoms, and wash over the tops with egg 
and milk as for buns, or with clarified butter. 

Jubilee Buns. — Two pounds of flour, three-fourths 
pound of loaf-sugar, three-fourths pound of butter, 
four eggs, one-half ounce of carb. of ammonia. Rub 
the butter in with the flour, make a bay and add the 
sugar ; pound the ammonia in a little milk, and pour 
in ; break the eggs, and mix altogether into a dough. 
Make six buns out of a pound of dough; mould them 
round ; wash the top with egg, put a small piece of 
peel in the center, dip the tops in rough sugar, and 
put them on a buttered tin so as not to touch. Bake 
in a moderate oven on two or three tins. No yeast. 

Rice Buns. — Two pounds sifted flour, one pound 
powdered loaf-sugar, twelve ounces ground rice, 
eight ounces butter, five eggs, twelve ounces cur- 
rants, two and one-fourth ounces carb. ammonia, 
and a bare one-half pint of water or milk. No yeast. 

No. 2. — Six pounds of flour, three and one-half 
pounds of loaf-sugar, two pounds of ground rice, 
one and one-half ounce carb. ammonia, two pounds 
of eggs, and one-half pint of milk. No yeast. 

Mix the ground rice, flour and sifted sugar to- 
gether; rub in the butter; pound the carb. ammonia 
in a mortar, using ammonia gradually, so as to dis- 
solve it. Make a bay with the flour, add the eggs 
and milk, and make into a paste. A little essence of 
lemon may be added to the mixture. With the sec- 
ond mixture I prefer using two or two and one-half 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 691 

ounces ammonia instead of one and one-half ounces, 
as it makes a more free and a better-looking cakat 

Eight or nine two-cent buns should be made out 
of each pound of dough. Mould them round ; put 
them on buttered tins about three inches apart, as 
they will spread considerably in baking; flatten 
them a little with the hand. Wash the tops with 
egg and a little milk mixed, and bake them in a 
sound oven. Set something, as a brick, or tin dish, 
bottom upward, under the tins, when they are put 
into the oven, or they will have too much bottom 
by the time they are baked. 

Belgian Buns. — Three pounds of flour, one pound 
and two ounces of butter, one pound and ten ounces 
or powered loaf-sugar, twelve ounces of blanched 
sweet almonds cut in fillets, eight ounces preserved 
citron, or lemon and orange peel, cut small, the yel- 
low rind of two lemons, grated, seven eggs, one- 
fourth ounce of cloves, one-fourth ounce of ground 
ginger, one-half ounce of nutmegs, one ounce of 
carb. ammonia, one pound of washed and picked 
currants. Mix, and proceed in every respect as di- 
rected for rice buns, reserving a few pieces of the 
almonds to put on the top of each. Twelve buns 
are usually made out of a pound of dough. 

KiCH Seed School Cake. — One quart of milk, 
three eggs, one and one-half pounds of butter, one 
pound of yellow sugar, one and one-half or two 
ounces of seeds, two ounces German yeast, or its 
equivalent, and flour sufficient to make a dough. 

Mix and ferment as for buns, make it into a soft 
dough ; when it is ready, divide it into six-cent, 
twelve-cent, or twenty-five -cent cakes, at the rate 
of twenty to twenty-five cents per pound; put them 
into round-cake tins, with bottoms suited to the 
difl^erent sizes, and let them be buttered; prove 
them, but not too much, and bake in a slow oven. 

KiCH CUKRANT SCHOOL CaKE AND COMMON TWELFTH 

Cake. — One quart of milk, three eggs, two pounds 



S92 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

of butter, three -fourths pound of sugar, si:i pounds 
0^ currants, and a little mixed spice, two ounces 
yeast, and flour sutficient to make a dough. 

Make as the last, and weigh it at the rate of 
twenty-five cents per pound; prove and bake as the 
last; you may know when they are done by push- 
ing a small piece of round stick into the middle of 
the cake — if it comes out dry, they are done. Six- 
cent and twelve-cent cakes will take about half an 
hour baking. The more common lunch cakes are 
made from the same mixture as buns. 

Bun Cake. — Four pounds of flour, one pound of 
currants, one pound of raisins, stoned, or Sultana 
raisins, twelve ounces of butter, eight ounces of 
sugar, eight ounces of preserved lemon and orange 
peel, a little nutmeg and mace. Make a sponge 
with part of the flour, warm milk and yeast first, 
and proceed as directed for plain buns. Use enough 
milk to make a dough. 

EicH School Dough Cake. — To four and one-half 
pounds of light roll dough, mix in one and one-half 
pounds of butter, eight ounces of sugar, one and 
one-half pounds of currants, eight ounces of pre- 
served peel cut small, and three eggs. Make into 
cakes, prove, and bake in a slow oven. When baked, 
sift loaf-sugar on the top of each. 

BUTTEKMILK AND CrEAM CaKES. — Two pOUnds of 

flour, a tablespoonful and a half of good table beer 
yeast, or one-half ounce of German yeast, and set 
sponge with one-half pint of warm buttermilk. 
When the sponge is ready, add a teacupful of 
cream, or a little butter, and sufficient warm butter- 
milk to make a dough, in which one-fourth ounce 
of carbonate of soda has been dissolved ; add also 
twelve ounces of currants ; make the whole into a 
dough ; when sufficiently light make into cakes of 
any size, prove, and bake them in a good oven. 

JDouGH Cake (another way), Seed or Currant. — 
Four pounds of roll dough, one pound of butter, 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 693 

one pound of sugar, one pound of Sultana raisins, 
one pound of currants, one-half pound of preserved 
orange and lemon peel, cut small, the yelks of six 
eggs, and a few caraway seeds. Mix well together, 
make into cakes of any size, and put into buttered 
hoops ; prove well, prick in the center with a bit of 
whisk to prevent blistering; bake in a cool oven. 

Tops and Bottoms. — Four pounds of flour, six 
ounces of butter, four ounces of loaf-sugar, one 
quart milk, two ounces German 5 east, or its equiv- 
alent ; or use the same mixture as for Sally Luns. 

Set sponge and mix as for plain buns; when the 
dough is ready, break eight pieces out of eleven 
ounces of it, mould them round, and place them in 
straisfht rows on buttered tins, nearly touching each 
other, prove them well, and bake in moderate oven. 
When they are cold, or the day after they are 
baked, first cut down each row with a sharp knife, 
then cut out each separately and as evenly as pos- 
sible ; finally, lay them on their sides, and cut them 
in halves. Put them on clean tins nearly touching 
each other, with the cut sides upwards ; place them 
in a moderate oven, and when nicely browned they 
are done. If the oven be too hot, leave open the 
oven door, or else they will color too quickly with- 
out being dried ; or, when sufficiently colored, they 
may be dried in the stove. 

Rusks. — Take the same mixture as that for Sally 
Luns, or the last recipe ; weigh it in pieces of one 
pound, one pound and a half, or two pounds, each; 
and mould into long, even rolls five or six inches in 
circumference ; let them be quite straight, and the 
ends square. Place them on buttered tins so that 
they may not touch each other ; flatten them a little 
with your hand, and prove them; when they are 
near proof, prick them several times along the top 
with a fork or small piece of wire, which will pre- 
vent the top crust or rind coming off; bake them in 
a moderate oven ; when they are a day or two old, 



^^^ THE HOME MECHANIC. 

cut them crosswaj into thin slices with a sharp 
knife, lay them on clean tins close to each other, 
put them in a brisk oven ;' when nicely colored on 
the sides uppermost, take them out and turn them 
on the other side, put them in again, and when 
colored they are done. 

Steasburg or Presburg Zweiback. — Prepare some 
long loaves as for rusks out of the mixture for plain 
buns, without any spice it ; make the dough rather 
tighter and the loaves smaller, so that they may be 
nearly three inches wide when baked. Do not prove 
too much, but let them be rather under than over 
proof; when baked, cut them in slices about an inch 
thick, and each slice ag^in in two pieces; these 
should be browned, as the other rusks, after they 
are divided. Then blanch equal parts of sweet and 
bitter almonds, dry them in a gentle heat ; pound 
in a mortar with the same weight of loaf-sugar as 
almonds, and sift through a coarse sieve ; what does 
not pass through^ pound as before or grind in an 
almond mill rather coarsely set ; mix the sugar and 
almonds into a moderately thin paste, with either 
whole eggs or part yelks of eggs; spread this over 
the top and sides of each 23iece with a knife, so as to 
give them a thin coating ; the mixture must not be 
too thin, or it will run off the rusks after they are 
spread; place them on clean tins in rows about two 
inches apart, but nearly touching at the ends. Bake 
in a cool oven until the almond paste is done, then 
put them in the stove and dry well. 

Dutch Rusks. — One quart milk, half pound but- 
ter, four or six ounces of sugar, four or six eggs, 
and yeast. 

Set sponge and make into a dough as the others ; 
when it is ready, mould them up into small round 
balls about the same size as for halfpenny buns, and 
put them on buttered tins so as not to touch ; prove, 
bake in a brisk heat; when cold, cut in halves, and 
finish as tops and bottoms. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 595 

German Buns. — The same mixture is used as the 
last (rusks). These are made oval, and when nearly 
proved are put in a cold place to set. They are 
then cut down the middle with a sharp knife, and 
baked in a warm oven ; when they open in the cen- 
ter the same as milk rolls. 

BiscoTTES DE Beuxelles. — Make rusks from the 
dough for milk rolls, adding about four ounces of 
loaf-sugar to the mixture, or from the dough for 
Dutch rusks; make dough a little " tighter," so that 
they may rise rounder on top; these must not be 
made quite so large as the last; prove, bake, cut in 
thin slices, color as the others, but of a pale brown. 

Scotch Buns. — Five pounds washed and picked 
currants, or two pounds stoned raisins, three pounds 
currants, twelve ounces butter, one pound blanched 
almonds (some may be cut in small pieces) one pound 
candied peel. Mix well together with two and one- 
quarter pounds plain bun dough, or the same quan- 
tity of bread dough, and four ounces of yellow 
sugar ; add a little ground ginger, allspice and cinna- 
mon to make the whole a nice flavor. 

Take some of the same paste as for butter bis- 
cuits, or mix eight ounces of butter in with four and 
one-half pounds bread dough; roll it out into a 
thin, flat, round sheet, in a similar manner as yoii 
would for a captain's biscuit, only rather larger ; 
then take of the above mixture about a dessert or 
or small tablespoonful, and put in the center, fold 
the paste round it, when it will form a ball, or near- 
ly so, flatten it a little, and cut round the sides with 
a knife, afterwards mark the top wdth a docker, the 
same as used for seed biscuits, pressing on it so as 
to open the cuts round the side, and make the bun 
flatter or broader over the top, then place them on 
tins, which may be slightly buttered ; put them so 
as not to touch each other, brush the tops over with 
egg, or egg mixed with part milk, and bake them ir, 
a moderate oven. 



596 THE HOME MECHANIC. v ' 

American Method. — The American plan of mak- 
ing both buns and rusks varies somewhat, and yet 
gives probably equally good results. 

Buns. — Rub one-half a pound of butter in enough 
flour to take it up ; add three to four eggs, a pound 
of sugar, a quart of milk and a teaspoonful of salt; 
mix well, and add four quarts of ordinary bread 
sponge ; add sufficient flour to make the dough, and 
knead them well ; make them up into shape ; prove 
ten minutes or more, and bake in a moderate oven. 

Rusks. — The same method as for buns, only 
altering the shape. 

Rolls. — Bread sponge, four quarts; milk, one and 
one-half pints ; butter, four ounces ; sugar, two tea- 
spoonfuls. Mix, add sufficient flour to make a rather 
firm dough, cut and scale. Bake in moderate oven. 



XXYL— POUND CAKE MIXTURES. 

PREPARATIONS FOR MAKING. 

When a mixture of pound or sponge cakes is to De 
made, first get everything ready that is required. 
The butter, if salt, to be washed, and well worked to 
get out the water, weighed and put into the pan to 
warm (if in winter), but not melted. The sugar 
pounded, sifted and weighed ; eggs broken separate- 
ly into a cup, and each tried by smelling; if good, 
put them together into a pot or basin ; peel cut ; 
currants washed clean, picked and weighed; flour 
weighed and sifted; carbonate of ammonia weighed, 
pounded, etc. Most of these things should be placed 
separately on pieces of clean paper or in pans; the 
flour, currants, spice and peel maybe mixed together. 

In winter, the basin containing the eggs should be 
placed in hot water to warm, otherwise the mixture 
may get cold and be heavy ; the curaants, peel and 
flour may be warmed in the proving oven, while the 
sugar, butter and eggs are being mixed. 



V X THE HOME MECHANIC. 597 

Cakes that are required to be iced, should be baked 
in hoops with straight sides, and be papered evenly; it 
will be found very inconvenient to put on the icing if 
the cake slopes in towards the bottom, and nearly so if 
not quite round, or if larger at the bottom than the 
top. 

Large cakes should also be baked on two plates or 
baking sheets, with sawdust or fine ashes, half an inch 
deep, covering the bottom one, and if the cakes are very 
large, a tin or stiif paper tube, buttered, should be put 
in the center to facilitate the baking. 

Before cutting an iced cake, first cut the icing with 
a small sharp knife ; the large knife required to divide 
the cake will crack and break the icing. 

Eggs are usually reckoned at 8 to the pound ; each 
egg, if of moderate size, will weigh about two ounces ; 
very large ones will of course weigh moi'e, and small 
ones less than two ounces, according to the size. A 
pint of eggs will weigh a pound and a quarter. The 
shells from a pound of eggs will average about two 
ounces, leaving fourteen ounces of eggs when they are 
broken, therefore it will take nine good sized eggs to 
make a pound when deprived of their shells. 

Common Pound Cakes. — 1 lb. of butter, 1 lb. of 
sugar, 1 lb. of eggs. If lb. of flour, ^ a teacupful of 
milk, ^ oz. carbonate of ammonia. Or, 

IJ lb. of butter, li lb. of loaf sugar, 1 pint of eggs, 
|- oz. of carb. ammonia, a teacupful of milk, or ^ pint, 
and 3 lbs. of flour ; some use 1 oz. of ammonia. 

Have a very smooth glazed earthen pan, make it 
about blood warm, and cream the butter (to cream the 
butter crush it with the hand until soft and uniform. 
A palette knife, such as painters use, is handy. The 
butter should never be melted into it.) Stir in the sugar, 
and continue to work it until it is smooth and appears 
white, then stir in the eggs gradually ; before they are 
all in, add a part of the flour, and mix it with the re- 
maining portion of the eggs well together; then pour- 
in the ammonia, which should be previously pounded 



598 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

and dissolved in the milk ; mix this well, and after- 
wards the other part of the flour lightly. Have the 
small round or heart pans buttered, half or three parts 
fill them, put a few currants on the top, and bake them 
in rather a quick oven. 

Another Method^ more common. — 1 pint of eg^gs, 1 
lb. of loaf sugar, 6 oz. of butter, 2 lbs. of flour, ^ oz. 
ammonia. 

Cream the butter in a pan as before, beat the eggs 
and sugar well together, add the ammonia in a flne pow- 
der, stir these in with the butter, add the flour, and 
mix the whole together with a spoon ; fill the pans, 
and put a few currants on the top as before. It is 
usual to try a few of these first, to see if they break 
suflicient in the center, and rise with a white top ; if 
they do not, the mixture is too rich, when a little more 
flour should be added, or a little more flour with an 
egg^ or some milk, and be well stirred in. 

Another. — 3 lbs. of butter, 3^ lbs. of yellow 
sugar, 6|- lbs, of flour, f of a pint of water, 1|- pint of 
eggs, 3 oz. ammonia. 

This mixture improves by being kept in a warm 
place for an hour or two after it is made up, before 
filling the pans. 

Pound Cake No. 4. — 3 lbs. butter, 4 lbs. granu- 
lated sugar, 40 eggs, 4 lbs. flour, 20 drops essence of 
lemon. 

Cream the butter and sugar with the hand or large 
palette knife until light ; then add the eggs four or 
five at a time, and beat light ; when half the eggs are 
in, add the essence of lemon ; then finish with the 
eggs — still four or five at a time, more makes it difii- 
cult and likely not to produce so good a result ; when 
all the eggs are in, add the flour, previously sifted ; 
when well mixed pour into cake moulds or hoops. 
The moulds now used are provided with tubes in the 
center, which allow the cake to bake from the center 
•as well as from the outside. If you bake in a hoop, 
put a cylinder of stiff writing paper, oiled, in the 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 599 

middle hefore pouring ; this will answer the same 
purpose as the tube in tlie punctured moulds. The 
hoops should be lined on sides and bottom with but- 
tered or oiled paper before being filled. The baking 
heat should be less than that for bread by fifteen to 
twenty degrees. Leave in moulds or hoops to cool. 
If inexperienced in baking, after 20 minutes, insert a 
piece of broom-corn into the cake; if this comes 
out without adhering dough, it is done. If the top 
brown too fast, cover with a sheet of paper. 

Some bakers and many house wjves use hahing 
powder to aid in making their pound cake. Baking 
powder is a compound, when pure, of the bi-carbonate 
of soda and bi-tartrate of potash (cream of tartar). 
It is probably more wholesome than soda alone<; at 
any rate, it does not give the soapy taste which soda 
does, as the cream of tartar and soda in combining 
neutralize each other, making the tartrate of soda and 
potash, which, in the small quantity used in baking, 
is not harmful, while the soda alone is somewhat irri- 
tating to the digestive canal. Indeed, in Seidlitz 
powders, we have the same combination and almost 
the same proportions as in baking powder. The 
proper proportions for the baking powder are : 

1 part bi-carbonate soda. 

2 parts cream of tartar, or in small quantities — 3 
oz. of carb. soda to 6 oz. cr. tartar. 

Every baker can make this powder for himself. 
The soda can be obtained pure enough of manufac- 
turers, and the tartaric acid should be got in crystals 
of the manufacturer and powdered, so as to be sure 
and have it pure. Both ingredients should be pow- 
dered and sifted through coarse muslin or a fine 
sieve. The powder should be thoroughly dried, and 
it may then be ndxed or not with well-dried corn 
starch or powdered farina. Starch or farina is only 
added to help to keep tlie powder, as it aids in sepa- 
rating the particles. If added, one pound to every 
three of the mixture is enough. This baking powder 



600 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

is tlie active ingredient in self-raising flour, to which 
it is added in the proportion of lialf an ounce of the 
powder to every two pounds of fl^ur. 

Other baking powders are made containing alum, 
but no human food should be contaminated with this 
substance, for there is no doubt but that it contributes 
directly to kidney diseases and much suifering. 

The main use of baking powder in cake work is to 
save eggs. The quantity of eggs may be diminished 
a quarter if baking powdei- is used in the proportion 
of one teaspoonful to every 1^ pints of flour ; but the 
result, though sufticientlj^ iig'l^t, will lack in richness. 
However, for many localities it will do well enough, 
especially if sales are rapid. Cakes made with baking 
powder get stale sooner than those made without. 

Lafayette Cakes. — |-lb. of butter, \ lb. of sugar, ^ 
lb. of flour, 6 eggs, \ oz. ammonia. 

Mix as pound cakes. Bake them in round flat tins 
about a quarter of an inch deep, or drop some of the 
paste on white-brown paper, and spread it out into a 
round thin cake, six inches in diameter ; this will make 
twelve cakes ; bake them in a moderate oven on tins ; 
take them off the paper when baked ; spread some rasp- 
berry or other jam on the surface of two of them, and 
put three together ; trim round the edges with a knife, 
and divide them into four, six, or eight parts, accord- 
ing to the price they are sold at. 

Madeira Cakes or Buns. — 1 lb. of flour, 1 lb. of 
butter, 1 lb. of powdered loaf sugar, 12 eggs, the peel 
of 3 lemons rubbed off on sugar, or a little essence of 
lemon, 8 or 12 oz. of citron peel cut small, 1 nutmeg 
grated, the same quantity of pounded mace and cinna- 
mon, and a glass of brandy. 

Mix as other pound cakes, and put the mixture 
either into small or large round hoops, with paper over 
the bottom and round the sides ; bake them in a moder- 
ate oven ; allow ten or twelve ounces of this mixture 
for a 25c. cake. 

No. 2. — \\ lb. of sifted flour, \\ lb. of powdered 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 601 

loaf sugar, 1 lb. of good butter, 12 eggs, the rinds of 2 
lemons grated on sugar and scraped off, ^ a nutmeg 
grated. 

No. 3.-2 lbs. of butter, 2|- lbs. of sugar, 3 lbs. of 
flour, 18 eggs, a little pounded mace and cinnamon, 
and a wineglassfull of rum. 

No. 4. — As made at Brighton. 1^ lb. of butter, 1-^ 
lb. of sugar, 1 lb. 10 oz. of flour, 12 eggs, a little es- 
sence of lemon, peel on top. 

Mix as the former ; twelve ounces of this mixture are 
allowed for a 25c. cake ; put into nicely papered 
hoops six inches in diameter, spread them out to the 
sides of the hoops, dust \vith finely powdered loaf 
sugar, put some large thin slices of citron peel on the 
top. and bake them a delicate brown, in a moderately 
cool oven. 

Madeira Drops. — 12 oz. of finely powdered loaf, 10 
oz, of butter, 1 lb. of flour, 8 eggs, -J- a grated nutmeg, 
and a little essence of lemon. Mix as the last. Drop 
them on white-browm paper about the size of a silver 
dollar, and bake in a moderately quick oven. 

Queen Cakes. — 1^ lb. of fine flour, 1 lb. of loaf 
sugar, |-lb. of currants, 9 eggs, and a small bit of carb. 
ammonia. Mix as before directed for pound cake ; let 
the pans be nicely cleaned and buttered, but not too 
much; fill them, dust the tops w'ith sugar, and bake in 
a moderately quick oven. These may be made plain 
by leaving out the currants. 

Seed Pound Cake. — 1^ lb. of flour, 1 lb. of fine 
sugar, 10 ecrgs, and 1 oz. of caraway seeds. Allow 12 
or 14 oz. of this mixture for 25 cent cakes. 

Fruit Pound Cake. — ^The same as the last, adding 
1^ lb. of currants instead of the seeds, with a small bit 
of carb. ammonia. Seedless raisins may be used instead 
of currants ; it is then called Sultana Cake. 

Plain Pound Cake. — 1 lb. of butter, IJlb. of sugar, 
lJ[-lb. of flour, 10 eggs, and a small bit of ammonia. 

Wedding Cake. — 1^ lb. of flour, 1 lb, 2 oz. of butter, 
1 lb. of yellow sugar, 4 lbs. of currants, 1^ lb. of mixed 



602 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

peel, 2 nutmegs grated, |- oz. of ground cinnamon, 10 
eggs, J lb. of blanched sweet almonds cut in halves or 
fillets, and a wineglass of brandy. Mix as before di- 
rected. 

Rich Seed Cake. — 14 eggs, 1 lb. of butter, 1 lb. of 
powdered loat* sugar, 1|- lb. of tiour, 2 oz. of caraway 
seeds, ^ lb. of sweet almonds cut in fillets, and J oz. of 
cinnamon and mace finely pounded with some of the 
sugar. Mix as other pound cakes, and bake in one large 
or several small hoops. Bake the large cake in a cool 
oven, and the smaller ones in a more brisk heat. 

E-icE Pound Cake. — 1 lb. of butter, 1 lb. of sugar, 
10 eggs, 12 oz. of fine flour, 8 oz. of ground rice. 

]Vo. 2, very rich. — 2 lbs. of butter, 1^ lb. of sugar, 
1^ lb. of e^g^, H lb. of fine flour, 1 lb. of rice flour, 3 
lbs. currants, 1^ lb. preserved peel, 2 nutmegs grated, 
and a little milk. 

Mix as other pound cakes, and bake in the usual 
way, or in oval tins instead of round ones. 

Common Fruit Cake. — 3 lbs. of butter, 2 lbs. of 
sugar, 24 eggs, 6 lbs. of sifted flour, 4 lbs. of currants, 
1^ lb. of preserved peel cut in thin slices, 2 oz. of 
mixed spice, 1 pint of warm milk, and ^ oz. of ammo- 
nia pounded fine and dissolved m the milk. Mix as 
directed for common pound cakes. 

EiCH Fruit Cake. — 1 lb. butter, 1 lb. sugar, H lbs. 
eggs, 1 lb. best raisins (use seedless, or take out seeds), 
2 lbs. currants, 1 lb. citron, shredded, 2 oz. brandy, 
^ oz. each cinnamon, mace, allspice, and cloves. 

Cream the butter and sugar; add eggs gradually, 
then the fruit ; mix thoroughly ,* add the brandy ; 
then put in the flour; mix well; pour into well- 
greased hoops, or into hoops lined and bottomed with 
oiled paper; keep in the hoops till cold. 

Genoa Cake. — This is now made in a very difi'erent 
way from what it was when first introduced into this 
country ; it was then composed as follows : To 4 oz. 
of blanched sweet almonds, finely pounded, add 6 oz. 
of flour, 8 oz. of finely pounded loaf sugar, 8 oz. of 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 603 

^ood butter, 4 eggs, and a spoonful of brandy. These 
ingi-edients are to be mixed the same as pound cake. 
For variety, currants, preserved citron or orange peel, 
vanilla, or maraschino liqueur may be used to flavor. 
The following is the modern mode : 1 lb. of butter, 
1 lb. of sugar, 1^ lb. of flour, 2i lbs. of washed and 
picked currants, 1^ lb. of preserved orange and lemon 
peel cut small, 1 lb. of eggs. Mix and bake as pound 
cake. 

Citron Genoa Cake. — Use the same proportions as 
the last, substituting Sultana raisins for the currants, 
and citron peel for the lemon and orange. 

Mix as pound cake ; cover a baking sheet, having 
edges, with paper, so as to form a kind of case ; spread 
the mixture over about an inch, or rather more, in 
thickness, make it smooth on the top, and strew some 
blanched and chopped sweet almonds rather thickly 
over ; bake in a moderately heated oven. When cold, 
cut in twopenny or larger slices. This is usually sold 
about 4:0c. per pound. 

Nuns' Biscuit. — 1 lb. of butter, 2 lbs. of sugar, 12 
eggs, 1 lb. 8 oz. of flour, 8 oz. of almonds. 

Mix as pound cake, put them in small tins buttered, 
and bake in a good oven. 

Nuns' Biscuit, No. 2. — 1 lb. of blanched sweet al- 
monds ground or pounded fine with 2 lbs. of loaf 
sugar, and passed through a moderately tine wire sieve, 
8 oz. of citron peel cut small, the yellow rinds of i 
lemons grated off, 8 oz. of flour, and 12 eggs. 

Separate the yelks from the whites and beat the lat- 
ter to a stifi" froth, put the yelks with the sugar and 
almonds into a pan, and stir well together with a 
wooden spoon, until it appears rather white and light, 
then stir in the whites, and afterwards the flour, and 
peel very lightly, so that the whole may be perfectly 
mixed. Have ready buttered some oval, round or other 
shaped small pans, similar to Queen's cake pans, but 
rather deeper ; three parts till them with the mixture, 
dust the tops with powdered loaf sugar, and bake in a 



(>()4 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

moderately heated oven, the same heat as for sponge 
cakes. For variety, about 4 or 6 oz. of the ahnonds 
may be cut into fillets and added with the peel, in- 
stead of the whole being pounded fine. 

Citron Pound Cake. — IJ lb. of butter, 1 lb. 2 oz. of 
sugar, IJ lb. of flour, 6 eggs, and 4 yelks of eggs, 8 oz. 
of preserved citron, and a wineglass of brandy. 

Mix in the usual way, and make into square cakes 
of any size. Cut the citron into long thin pieces, and 
put two or three layers in each cake. Dust the tops 
with powdered sugar, and bake in a moderate oven. 
These will be found very nice, rich cakes. 

Citron Heart Cakes. — 1 lb. of butter, 1 lb. of sugar, 

1 lb. 2 oz. of flour, 4 oz. of citron peel cut small. Slix 
as pound cakes, and bake in round heart tins, dusting 
the tops with sugar before they are put into the oven. 

Orange ajs^d Lemon Heart Cakes can be made in 
the same way, using the preserved peel of either instead 
ot the citron. 

A Plum Cake (unfermented). — 1|- lb. of powdered 
loaf sugar, 8 oz. of raisins, stoned and minced, or use 
Sultana raisins instead, 8 oz. of currants, 8 oz. of 
blanched sweet almonds cut in fillets, 12 oz. of butter, 

2 lbs. of flour, and nearly |- pint of milk, ^ oz. of mixed 
spice, |- oz. of carbonate of soda, and 3 drams of hydro- 
chloric (muriatic) acid. 

Mix as pound cake, bake in papered hoops, smooth 
the top of each cake, and strew over caraway comfits. 
Large cakes will require to be baked in a cool oven ; 
smaller ones in a brisker heat. 

The carbonate of soda should be dissolved in the 
milk, and the acid added to a little w^ater or a portion 
of the milk; or the soda may be mixed with the sugar, 
and the acid with the milk, which should be added at 
the same time with the flour. See common pound cakes. 

Penny Pound Cakes. — 1 lb. of butter, 1 lb. of loaf 
sugar, 1^ lb. otflour, 9 eggs, ^ pint of milk, f oz. ot 
carbonate of soda, 6 drams of muriatic acid. 

Mix as common pound cakes, and bake in round 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 605 

buttered tins, put a few currants on the top, and bake 
in a moderately brisk oven. 

The soda may be added with the sugar, or it maybe 
dissolved in one portion of the milk, and the acid in 
the other ; then, after the butter, sugar and eggs are 
well mixed, stir in either the soda or acid with a por- 
tion of the flour, and then the other with the remain- 
ing portion. 

iThese cakes I found would rise much better, and 
break with a " nice white head," by the mixture r,e- 
maining, when finished, from one to two hours in the 
pan, in a warm place. The cakes, made this way, eat 
and keep much better than when made with ammonia, 
but they do not look so large. 

Scotch or Dundee Seed Cakes. — IJ lb. of butter, 
H lb. of sugar, 2 lbs. of flour, 18 eggs, 2^ lbs. of orange 
or citron peel, ^ lb. of blanched almonds, 5 oz. of cara- 
way seeds. 

Make as Madeira cakes, and strew some very large 
Scotch caraways over the top. 

Silver Cake. — 1 lb. butter, 1 lb. sugar, 1^ eggs 
Whites, 1^ lbs flour, 4 oz. bleached almonds beaten 
in the mortar, or 3 drops almond flavoring. 

Mix as before; bake in hoops lined with oiled paper, 
and in a moderate heat. 



XXYII.— SPONGE MIXTURES. 

Sponge Cakes (Hot mixtures). — 1 lb. of powdered 
loaf sugar, 12 oz. of flour. Or, 

1 lb. 2 oz. of eggs, 1 lb. of sugar, 14 oz. of flour. 

Provide a clean, smooth, glazed earthen pan, or a 
round bottom copper pan, place the first in the oven to 
warm, with the sugar in it ; when warm enough, which 
will be in about five or ten minutes, according to the 
heat of the oven, break in the eggs, and whisk them 
well with a birch or iron wire whisk ; or it may be 



606 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

heated in the copper pan over a fire, or in the earthen 
pan by placing it in a pail of hot water. By each way, 
the end required is to heat the mixture until it is blood- 
hot. As soon as it has attained this heat, remove it, 
and continue whisking it until cold, when it should be 
light, white and stiff, the surface appearing full of air- 
bubbles ; if it should not come up very well, heat it 
again as before and whisk it till cold. A half egg- 
shellfull of hot water may be added with advantage to 
each pound of mixture, when it is about half up, 
which will often save the trouble of its being heated 
again, and more cakes may then be made out of it. 
When it is finished, take out the whisk, sift the flour, 
and stir it in lightly with a spoon or spatula. In large 
mixtures I prefer using my hand for this purpose, as I 
find that it can be mixed in much lighter and more 
evenly. This cannot be accomplished so perfectly 
with a spoon, without stirring the mixture too much, 
which will make it rather heavy. 

Havesome pans or frames nicely and evenly buttered; 
most persons prefer that th e frames should be well 
dusted with fine powdered sugar, or sugar and flour, 
after they are buttered, which gives them a smooth 
surface. Put a spoonful in each pan ; dust the top 
with sugar, and bake them in a moderate oven. This 
mixture should produce four dozen of 2-cent sponge 
cakes. 

In making Savoy or Other large cakes, the " scrap- 
ing of the pan," that is, that part of the mixture which 
adheres to the side of the pan aftf^r the bulk has been 
taken out, should not be used, as it forms a hard core 
in the cake, neither does it soak or bake well. Savoy 
biscuits, and all other sorts of drops which contain it, 
crack or open on the top, instead of remaining with a 
whole smooth surface ; there is no loss attached to its 
not being used, as it will serve to enrich buns or other 
things of a similar nature. Those made by the above 
directions are termed hot mixtures; but they do not 
keep so well as those made cold. At the end of a 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 607 

week those done without heat will be qnite moist, 
whilst the others will be dry and stale ; jet those made 
hot have an advantage over the others, as more biscuits 
or cakes may be made from it, provided it is properly 
beat. 

Cold Mixtures are made by carefully separating the 
yelks of the eggs from the whites ; put the latter into 
a clean pan, and whip them to a strong froth, so as it' 
will bear an Q^g\ then stir in the yelks, afterwards the 
BUgar gradually, and continue whisking until the 
whole is well mixed ; lastly, stir in the flour very 
lightly. It will be necessary to observe that every- 
thing used about these mixtures must be perfectly free 
from grease. 

Savoy Cakes. — Make as sponge cakes. 

Almond 8avoy Cakes. — 8 oz. of blanched and dried 
sweet almonds, 4 oz. of blanched bitter almonds, 12 oz. 
of pounded loaf sugar, 8 oz. of flour, \ pint of whole 
eggs, and 1 pint of j^elk of eggs ; 1 lb. of sugar may be 
preferred by some to 12 oz. 

Pound the sugar and almonds together, and pass 
them through a moderately fine wire sieve, put these 
into a mortar or pan, add the yelks, and mix well until 
it appears white, then add the whole eggs, and con- 
tinue mixing as before ; or it may be done as sponge 
cakes. When the mixture is quite light, stir in the 
flour lightly. Have the moulds ready cleaned and but- 
tered, dust them with flour, and three parts fill them. 
Tie buttered paper round the edge of the moulds, and 
bake in a moderate oven. ^ i 

Almond Heart Cakes may be made the same, using 
deeper pans than ordinary. Those used by confection- 
ers for this purpose have no bottoms ; a level plate is 
covered with paper, and the buttered tins put on it 
filled and baked. 

Lady's Fingers or Savoy Biscuits. — 1 lb. of ^gg^^ 1 
lb. of sugar, 1 lb. of flour; flavor it with essence of 
lemon. 

Mix and prepare as for sponge cakes (cold mixtures); 



608 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

have a regular biscuit forcer or small pipe or funnel 
attached to a bag made either of bed-ticking or a bul- 
lock's bladder, half or three parts fill this, and lay them 
off in lengths, about three inches long, on white- 
brown paper ; sift some fine powdered loaf sugar over 
them, so that the tops may be covered with it; take the 
paper by the two corners, and shake off all that does 
not adhere to the biscuits ; this is termed icing them ; 
place them on a clean tin, and bake them in a moder- 
ately warm oven. Some of the mixture may be also 
made into round drops. When they are baked, wet 
the back of the paper, take off the biscuits, and put the 
bottoms of two together. There are moulds sold es- 
pecially for making Ladies' Fingers. 

Italian Tea Biscuits. — Take the same mixture as 
for Savoy biscuits, make them in round drops with the 
bag and funnel, on white-brown paper ; vary them by 
putting on the tops of some a few currants, on others a 
few blanched sweet almonds chopped small, a little cit- 
ron or lemon peel cut small, or a few caraway seeds ; 
dust the tops with sugar, and bake them in a moderate 
oven. When baked, wet the paper, take them off, and 
put the bottoms of two together. 

About two hundred years since, the proportions for 
these cakes were: 1 lb. of sugar, 1 lb. of flour, 6 egg^, 
and I" oz. of aniseeds in powder, dropped round on but- 
tered tins, the tops being quite plain. 

Tea Drops. — As the last; make them about the size 
of a five-shilling piece, and dust the tops lightly with 
sugar, that the surfacest may appear cracked ; take 
them off the paper, and keep them separate. 

Fruit Biscuits. — 6 whole eggs, 6 yelks of eggs, 1 lb. 
of sugar, 1 lb. of flour. 

Mix as sponges ; drop them on paper about the size 
of a quarter, dust the tops with sugar, bake them as 
the others ; take them off' the paper, spread some pre- 
served fruit or jam over the bottom, and put two to- 
gether. These may afterwards be iced, and colored to 
represent peaches, etc. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 609 

Judges' Biscuits. — 10 eggs, 1 lb. of sugar, 1 lb. of 
flour, and a few caraway seeds. Or, 

8 eggs, 4 yelks, 1 lb. of flour, 1 lb. of sugar, and a 
few seeds. 

Make as for sponges ; drop them on paper, the same 
size as tea drops, dust the surfaces well with sugar, 
and bake as the others ; take them off* the paper ; they 
may be kept separately or put together. 

French Savoy Biscuits. — Take the second mixture 
for Judges' Biscuits, and make them as directed for 
Savoy biscuits. 

Italian Cakes. — Take the same mixture as for 
Judges' Biscuits, leaving out the seeds, and flavor it 
with essence of lemon ; have a tin or wooden ring with 
a handle to it; let it be three inches wide, and the 
eighth of an inch thick ; place a sheet of paper on a 
clean tin, put the ring on it, and fill it with the batter, 
smoothing over the surface with a knife ; put the knife 
underneatli the edge, and remove the ring; lay off as 
many as you can on the paper, without touching each 
other, bake them in a hot oven ; when they are baked, 
wet the back of the paper, take them ofi*, and put two 
together. Drv them in a stove or cool oven : when 
dried, they should be kept in a dry place ; and they 
will keep good for some months. 

Rolled Jelly Cake, Roll Sandwich, or Swiss Pud- 
ding. — 16 eggs, 12 oz. of sugar, 12 oz. of flour. Or, 

16 eggs, 14 oz. of sugar, 12 oz. of flour, 1 oz. of but- 
ter chopped very small in the flour, 2 oz. of bitter 
almonds, ground. 

Mix as for sponge cakes, observing to whisk the 
eggs and sugar well together, that the mixture may be 
of a good thickness or consistence before the flour is 
added, which should be stirred in lightly. 

Lay two pieces of white writing paper, seven or 
eight inches wide, and about two feet long, on two 
clean baking sheets (tins). Pour the mixture from the 
pan the whole length of llie paper on each tin ; spread 
it a little with a knife, so as the batter may be nearly 



610 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

half an inch in thickness, and to make the edges 
straight. 

Bake them in a moderately warm oven, observing 
that they should be done enough, but not too much^ or 
they cannot be well rolled. 

Have ready prepared, by the time they are baked, 
some raspberry jam and currant jelly in separate 
basins, '* thinned " with a little water, being careful 
that it is not too much so, or it will soak through the 
cakes and spoil their appearance. 

As soon as the cakes are baked, turn them over on a 
clean dry board or paper ; take off the paper they were 
baked on, spread jelly over one of the cakes, and jam 
over the other, and roll them up. When rolled, brush 
over the top of each cake lightly with a brush dipped 
in clean water, so as just to moisten the surface, and 
roll them, as they are done, in some coarse grains of 
loaf sugar. Cut them in slices according to the price 
the}^ are to be sold at. 

A single cake made as above, covered with jelly, and 
rolled up, is more convenient generally. 

French Jelly Cake. — A pound of butter, pound 
of sugar, worked to a cream. Add the yelks of 15 
eggs, and beat up light, and beat the whites of the 
eggs up stiff. Add one pound of sponge cake crumbs 
to the sugar and butter, and beat up. Then add one 
pound of corn starch and the whites of the eggs 
gradually until it is worked even, smooth and stiff. 
This is the filling. The crust is good pie-bottom 
crust, as short as you please. Line the bottom of an 
oblong pan with it, spread over it a little good jelly, 
and on top of this the filling to the depth of half an 
inch. Bake in moderate heat, ice lightly, and cut 
into blocks. 

Mountain Cake, or White Mountain Cake. — ^ lb. 
sugar, ^ lb. butter, ^ lb. whites of eggs, -J lb. flour, 
^teaspoonfiil cr. tartar, -|- soda, or f baking powder. 

Or i- lb. sugar, 6 oz. butter, 4 eggs, |^ gill milk, 10 oz. 
flour, cr. tartar and soda or baking powder as above. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 611 

Dissolve soda, if used, in a little milk. 

Work the batter and sugar together ; then the eggs, 
and milk; then the flour, with baking powder or or. 
tartar mixed with it. Make three circular cakes of this, 
of equal size. Bake lightly. When done, put some nice 
cocoanut icing on top of each, a full quarter of an inch 
thick. Lay them on top of each other, and pour 
some good vanilla-flavored icing slowly over the 
whole. Bake lightly a few minutes. The outer icing 
may be made with cocoanut if desired. See Icing. 

Flat Jelly Cake. — Make the cake as in White 
Mountain cake, using carbonate of ammonia instead 
of soda and cream tartar. Make 3 or 4 cakes, and 
put jelly on top of each, except the upper one. No 
icing. 

Scarborotjgh Water Cakes.— 8 eggs, 1 lb. of sugar, 
1 lb. of flour, and sufiicient ground cinnamon to flavor 
it. 

Mix as sponges ; lay them off with a ring, the same 
size as Italian cakes, dust the tops with sugar, and 
bake them in a moderately quick oven ; put two to- 
gether, or they may be kept single ; these are not to 
be dried. 

Biscuit Drops. — 2 lbs. of sugar, 6 eggs, 8 yelks of 
eggs, 2 lbs. of flour, ^pint of water (originally Canary 
or Lisbon wine was used instead of water), and a few 
seeds. 

1 lb. of sugar, 1 lb. 2 oz. of flour, 6 eggs, \ a tea- 
cupfull of hot water, and a few seeds. 

Mix the sugar, eggs, yelks, and water together, and 
make as sponges ; drop this mixture on wafer paper in 
drops about as big as a quarter ; dust the tops with 
sugar, and bake them in a moderately warm oven. 

Another way. — 7 eggs, 1 lb. of loaf sugar, 1 lb. 2 
oz. of tine flour, and a few caraway seeds. Heat this 
mixture twice during the beating, and then proceed as 
before. 

Naples Biscuits. — 1 lb. of sugar, 1 lb. of eggs, 1 lb. 
of flour (originally two table-spoonfuls of rose-water 



(>12 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

and a few caraway seeds were added), and half a tea- 
cupful of warm water. 

Mix as sponges ; paper some small long narrow tins 
with white paper, put in a spoonful of the mixture, ice 
the tops, and bake them in a moderate oven. 

Diet Bread Cakes. — Tliese are similar to the last, 
but baked in larger tins for sixpenny and shilling 
cakes. 

Leamington, Victoria, or Albert Cakes. — Sponge 
cake mixture baked in narrow oval tins holding about 
\ lb. of batter each. The tins are to be well buttered ; 
the bottom and sides strewed thickly with currants, 
and four or five pieces of citron peel placed on the top 
of each cake; then dusted with loaf sugar, and baked 
in a moderately heated oven, the same as for sponge 
cakes. 

Rice Cakes. — As sponge cakes, using part ground 
rice instead of flour. Bake them in small square tins 
for sixpenny and other size cakes. The pans should be 
previously carefully buttered, and dusted with finely 
powdered sugar and flour. 

Or, take the weight of 8 eggs of powdered loaf 
sugar, the weight of 2 eggs of wheat flour, and 6 eggs 
of rice flour, and proceed as just described, using 8 
eggs with the other ingredients. 

Arrowroot Cakes. — As rice cakes, using arrowroot 
instead of ground rice. 

Common Sponge Drops (usually sold in the streets 
and at fairs). — 1 pint of eggs, 1 lb. of yellow sugar, 
or pint of molasses, 2 lbs. of flour, -J oz. of ammonia. 

Mix the eggs and sugar together, as for sponges, add 
the salt finely powdered ; this will not get thick and 
white like the other mixtures, as the volatile salt pre- 
vents it ; stir in the flour, drop them on buttered tins, 
put a few currants on the top, and bake them in a 
moderately warm oven ; take them off the tins with a 
knife. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 613 

XXYIII.— MISCELLANEOUS CAKES. 

Cream Pcffs. — We will first describe the Filling. 

Crea^n or filling : Mix and beat 1 lb. of white su- 
gar, 1 lb. of eggs, \ lb. corn starch, and a heaped tea- 
spoonful of salt. In the meantime bring \ a gallon 
of milk to a boil. Pour in the other ingredients. 
Move ofi* the fire and stir until cool. Flavor with 
vanilla. When quite cold, cut open the puffs, made 
as explained below, insert a dessert spoonful of the 
^' cream," and bring the edges of the puff together 
again. A variation of this cream can be made by 
using only J the whole eggs given above, and finishing 
by beating in 1 lb. of ^^^ whites. This makes a 
ligliter colored filling. 

The Puffs: In -I- a gal. of water boil If lb. of 
lard, in a sliallow vessel, until it froths. If the lard is 
adulterated with alum, as is the case with much of the 
canned lard, you are apt to have a failure at this point. 
Be sure to have good leaf lard, clear of all foreign 
mixture. When the lard is thoroughly melted, add 
quickly 3f lbs. of sifted flour, a handful at a time, 
stirring it well ; allow to cool and then add 2 lbs., 
eggs (twenty or twenty-two), a few at a time, stirring 
well, and finally add -|- an ounce carbonate of ammo- 
nia (previously dissolved in very little water). Stir 
again thoroughly, and then drop on a greased or flour- 
ed baking sheet, with a tablespoon — each spoonful 
at a distance of two or three inches from the other, to 
allow the puffs room to swell. Bake in a moderate 
oven, and when they are cool fill as described in the 
preceding paragraph. 

Cream Cakes. — 1 lb. butter, 1 qt. milk, 2 lbs. of 
eggs, f lb. flour, ^ teaspoonful bi-carb. soda. Warm 
the milk, put in the butter, stir until melted. Add 
the flour gradually, and keep stirring until free from 
lumps. Cool the mixture andgraduall)' add the eggs, 
stirring all the time. Finally add the bi-carb. soda. 
Drop on a baking sheet, and bake in a quick heat. 



614 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

When they are hardened a little, brush over the top 
with egg to give them a gloss. 

Fill as in cream puffs. 

Eclairs. — These are very popular in New York. 
They are only creain puffs or cakes baked in a mould 
shaped like a lady's finger-mould, large size, and 
tilled with the same kind of cream or filling, but cov- 
ered with chocolate prepared as follows : Dissolve \ 
lb. chocolate and |- lb. white sugar in ^ gill of water, 
with the aid of heat. Stir until quite smooth, and 
then pour over the top of the eclairs as they lie close 
together in a pan. Set the icing a little in a cool 
oven. 

Or if a stronger flavor of chocolate is wanted, dis- 
solve first |- oz. gum arable in ^ gill hot water, and 
also dissolve ^ lb. chocolate in ^ pint of hot water. 
Stir till smooth, and pour the mixtures together. This 
makes a quick-setting icing ; it looks bright, and tastes 
.strong of the chocolate. It can be cheapened by 
using more sugar and less chocolate. This icing 
also allows a handsomer finish to the article than the 
first named, but is not so good after the second or 
third day. 

Silver Cake (Lady Cake — Lady's Wedding 
Cake). — Cream 1^ lbs. of butter, and stir into it 1 lb. 
of sugar. Then add gradually, stirring well all the 
time, one pint of egg whites ; after this, mix in lightly 
from 1 to 1^ lbs. of sifted flour, and finally flavor with 
almond-flavoring — two to four drops — or with bitter 
almonds, blanched and chopped fine, 1 oz. Bake in a 
very moderate heat. Ice if desired and ornament in 
center and on edge for wedding cake. This is a hand- 
some and delicious cake. The essential point in mak- 
ing it is to keep it light. 

STew Years' Cake (New York Cookies — Caraway 
Cake). — This is a popular cake in New York and vi- 
cinity during the Christmas and New Year holidays. 
It is a crisp, dry cake, about half an inch thick, and 
pricked on top. Properly it is not iced, though a 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 615 

popular German form of the delicacy is iced in pat- 
terns, and the icing further ornamented with jelly. 

I. Cream 1 lb. of butter, and work into it |- lb. of 
sugar, a pint of milk, and three to three and a half 
pounds sifted flour, add a full tablespoonful of baking 
powder or two teaspoonsful of cream tartar and one 
teaspoonful of bi-carbonate of soda, and two table- 
spoonsful of caraway seeds. Lay out in pieces about 
2^ in. wide and 5 in. long, crimp the edges and prick 
the top. Bake in rather a quick heat, and keep in a 
dry plac(5. 

II. Cream 1 lb. butter and If sugar, and add one 
pint milk or buttermilk, and two tablespoonsful of 
saleratus. Add 3 beaten eggs, mix well, add table- 
spoonful caraway seed and one grated nutmeg. Then 
mix in flour enough to make a stifl" dough. HoU out 
^ in. thick, cut into shape, and bake in a quick heat. 

III. (By measure.) Cream ^ pint of butter into 2 
pints of sugar, add |- oz. carawaj^ seeds, teaspoonful of 
essence lemon, mix in 2 quarts sifted flour, and tea- 
spoonful carbonate of ammonia dissolved in hot water. 
Make a stifi" dough, roll out and bake as before. 



XXIX.— CRULLEES. 

No. 1. — 10 lbs. flour, 2 lbs. sugar, 2 lbs. eggs, |- lb. 
butter, ^ gal. milk, 3 oz. baking powder (or 2 tea- 
spoonsful of bi-carbonate soda and four teaspoonsful 
of cream of tartar). 

Flavor slightly with lemon ; cream the butter and 
sugar and flavoring ; dissolve the soda, if used, in the 
milk, and mix the cream of tartar with the flour ; then 
mix in the flour with the rest of the ingredients ; put 
in a little more flour ; make a stiff paste, roll out and 
cut with a cruller cutter. If you have no cruller cut- 
ter, and have any two round cutters, one smaller than 
the other, you can first cut a round shape and then cut 



^16 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

out the center with the smaller cutter ; this, twisted, 
gives the shape. If baking powder alone is used it is 
mixed with the flour. Fry to a golden brown in clean 
boiling fat ; take care the fat is not burnt. 

No. 2.— 10 lbs. flour, 4 lbs. sugar, 1 lb. butter, 1 lb. 
eggs, Gallon of milk, 2 oz. carbonate of ammonia, 
2 oz. bi-carbonate of soda dissolved in the milk. 

Mix and fry as before. 

This makes a sweeter and shorter cruller than the 
first recipe, and is also more expensive. The propor- 
tions of butter and sugar in crullers admit of plentiful 
variation, and the pr(^duct varies from the leatliery 
productions common around the docks of New York 
to the crisp productions of Purssell. The thing is to 
find the golden mean between toughness and excessive 
shortness or tendency to crumble. 



STKAWBEEEY SHORT CAKE. 

This popular delicacy is found made in several dif- 
ferent ways in dift'erent parts of the country. We 
will give the principal ones: 

No. 1. — Make a plain sponge cake mixture (see 
sponge cake) without flavoring, and bake in round 
cakes, about six inches in diameter. Bake in moder- 
ate oven. Take one and cover with a single layer of 
strawberries, upon which lay another cake, another 
layer of berries, and finish by putting on the top a 
little of light icing made by beating up the whites of 
two eggs with ^ve to six ounces sugar (powdered) to 
make the icing. Put into a cool oven or a warm spot 
near it, or into a proving dish a few minutes to set 
the icing. 

No. 2. — Is the same as No. 1, with the exception of 
the icing. To many persons the sponge cake founda- 
tion is sutflciently sweet, without the addition of the 
icing. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 617 

Ko. 3. — A bottom cake of puff-paste (which see) or 
good pie crust, a layer ol strawberries, a top cake of 
sponge cake, a final layer of strawberries, and icing or 
not, as in Nos. 1 and 2. Popular in parts of the West. 

1^0. 4. — Sift into one pound of flour one ounce bak- 
ing powder and a half pound of sugar ; then work into 
it a quarter pound of butter, six eggs and four spoon- 
fuls of cream. Bake in round shape, and arrange 
with strawberries and icing as in Nos. 1 or 2. Pop- 
ular in the South. 



ICING, 



The icing in ordinary use with bakers consists of 
sugar, white of eggs and a little flavoring. The less 
sugar the softer it is. To make it well take for every 
pound oi powdered sugar, the whites of four eggs, and 
one teaspoonful of flavoring extract, or one gill of the 
juice of the fruit. Have the eggs in a long, wide, 
shallow and cool dish. Throw a handful of the sugar 
upon the eggs, and with along, even and continuous 
sweep, work the two together. Keep adding sugar 
in the same way, and occasionally some of the flavor- 
ing, until all is mixed and the mass is smooth, fine and 
firm; half an hour is generally enough. Putting the 
dish on ice aids the operation in summer. If it con- 
tinues too thin in spite of beating and ice, add more 
sugar. Icing may be mixed with cocoanut grated, or 
with chocolate in almost any proportion ; and it may 
be colored with any of the colors confectioners use. 
But in general it is used white and only flavored with 
a little lemon. 

CHARLOTTE RUSSE. 

This is composed of an outside or cake part of 
sponge cake^ about one-third of an inch thick (see 
sponge cake). Ladies fingers are often used for mak- 
ing them. Though the competition has grown so con- 



618 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

siderable in large cities, that small, plain shapes of cake 
are used to save labor in tlie inanufacture. Very good 
but small charlottes may be had in New York for 50 
cents per dozen, retail. These are made in small cyl- 
inders of writing paper with pasteboard bottoms, and 
sold in them, the cheapness of the boxes making it not 
worth while to return them. The sponge cake being 
ready, the bottoms and sides of the charlotte are cut 
out with tin cutters, so that the boxes can be rapidly 
lined with the cake. 

The interior or filling of the charlotte russe is made 
by putting a quarter of a pound of the best gelatine or 
isinglass into half a gallon of milk, flavored with a 
couple of teaspoonfuls of vanilla extract, and set to 
gently heat. Now into three-quarters of a pound of 
sugar stir the yelks of fifteen eggs until thoroughly 
mixed. Beat up the whites of the eggs by themselves. 
The isinglass being dissolved, pour the milk contain- 
ing it into the yelks and sugar, stirring the mixture ; 
then add the beaten whites, and stir up well. If not 
flavored sufliciently, add more. If desired of a nicer 
quality, add from one to two quarts of cream, and a 
teaspoonful or two of brandy. But the latter had bet- 
ter be omitted, if there is any doubt as to its quality. 

This mixture is now ready to go into the moulds. 
It should be promptly poured in, and the finished 
charlottes placed for a few minutes in a cool oven for 
the filling to set. The charlottes should be filled 
quite full, as they look much better for having a plump 
full top. Some makers finish by adding a little cubic 
block of fruit jelly to the top of the charlotte. Char- 
lotte russe moulds can be had of all sizes of the con- 
fectioners' supply stores. 



WAFFLES. 

Though not generally made by bakers, waffles are 
occasionally made on a large scale, or become popular 



THE HOME MECHxVNIC. 619 

in special neighborhoods. They are easily made, with 
the assistance of a waffle-iron. The proportions are : 
Three pounds flour, one pound eggs, one pound* but- 
tei* or fresh lard, quarter pound sugar, and one ounce 
salt, and sufficient milk to make a batter that will pour 
freely into the waffle-iron or mould, which must be 
well greased. Waffles are served with sugar dusted 
upon the top. 



CORN CAKE. 

Corn bread is a household breakfast luxury, and is 
consequently not made by the professional baker; but 
corn cakes, which are really corn bread, intended to 
be eaten cold, are popular at the "Dairies." They 
are baked in round moulds, about three inches in di- 
ameter at the top and two and a half at the bottom, 
and about two inches deep. The cake thus baked will 
keep tolerabl}^ moist at least for twenty-four hours. 
The following will be found good receipes. Yellow 
meal gives the best results: 

Corn Cake (No. 1). — Three pounds corn meal, 
scalded ; one pound wheat flour, one quart sour milk, 
half pint molasses or half pound yellow sugar, one 
tablespoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls bicarb, soda. 

Bake one hour in small moulds. 

CoKN Cake (No. 2). — Four pounds corn meal, one 
quart sweet milk, half pint molasses or half pound 
sugar, one tablespoonful salt, one ounce baking pow- 
der. Bake as No. 1. 



PASTRY. 

The making of good puft-paste depends "pon work 
— cool hands, good butter, and judgment. The latter 
mental quality is mainly called for in the use of the 
water necessary, which will depend upon the flour 



620 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

used — good California or Richmond iionr taking more 
than, St. Louis, generally, and the latter more than 
that from the Northern and Northwestern States. 
The baker must judge by the paste under his hands. 

French Puff-Paste, or Fetjilletage (No. 1). — 
Equal quantities of flour and butter — say one 
pound of each ; half saltspoonful of salt, the yelks of 
two eggs, rather more than a quarter pint of water. 

Weigh the flour ; see that it is perfectly dry, and 
sift it ; squeeze all the water from the butter, and 
wring it in a clean cloth till there is no moisture re- 
maining. Put the flour on the paste-board or slab, 
work lightly into two ounces of the butter, and then 
make a hole in the center ; into this well put the yelks 
of two eggs, the salt, and about a quarter pint of wa- 
ter (the quantity of this latter ingredient must be reg- 
ulated by the baker, as it is impossible to give the ex- 
act proportion of it) ; knead up the paste quickly and 
lightly, and, when quite smooth, roll it out square to 
the thickness of about half an inch. Presuming that 
the butter is perfectly free from moisture, and as cool 
as possible, roll it into a ball, and place this ball of 
butter on the paste ; fold tiie paste over the butter all 
round, and secure it by wrapping it well all over. 
Flatten the paste by rolling it lightly with the rolling- 
pin until it is quite thin, but not thin enough to allow 
the butter to break through, and keep the hoard and 
paste dredged lightly wnth flour during the process of 
making it. This rolling gives it \k\Q first turn. Now 
fold the paste in three, and roll out again, and, shouLl 
the weather be very warm, put it on the ice to cool 
between the several turns ; for, unless this is par- 
ticularly attended to, the paste will be spoiled. Koll 
out the paste again twice, put it by to cool, then roll 
it out twice more, which will make six turnings in all. 
Now fold the paste in two, and it will be ready for 
use. If properly baked and well made, this crust will 
be delicious, and should rise in the oven to a height of 
several inches. The paste should be made rather Arm 



' • THE HOME MECHANIC. 621 

in the first instance, as the ball of butter is liable to 
break through. Great attention must also be paid to 
keeping the butter very cool, as, if this is in a liquid 
and soft state, the paste will not answer at all. This 
paste will have a ranch better appearance than that 
made by the process of dividing the butter into four 
parts, and placing it over the rolled-out paste ; l)ut, 
until experience has been acquired, we recommend 
pufi-paste No. 3. The above paste is used for every- 
thing that requires very light crust. 

Puff-Paste (No. 2). — To every pound of flour 
allow the yelk of one egg^ the juice of one lemon, 
half saltspoonful of salt, gill and a half cold water, 
one pound of fresh butter. 

Put the flour on to the paste-board or slab ; make 
a hole in the center, into which put the yelk of 
the egg, the lemon-juice, and salt ; mix the whole with 
cold water (this should be iced in summer, if conve- 
nient), into a soft flexible, paste, with the right hand, 
and handle it as little as possible ; then squeeze all the 
buttermilk from the butter, wring it in a cloth, and 
roll out the paste ; place the butter on this, and fold 
the edges of the paste over, so as to hide it ; roll it out 
again to the thickness of a quarter of an inch ; fold 
over one-third, over which again pass the rolling-pin ; 
then fold over the other third, thus forming a square ; 
place it with the ends, top, and bottom before you, 
shaking a little flour both under and over, and repeat 
the rolls and turns twice again, as before.' Flour a 
baking-sheet, put the paste on this, and let it remain 
on ice or in some cool place for half an hour ; then 
roll twice more, turning it as before; place it again 
upon the ice for a quarter of an hour, give it two 
more rolls, making seven in all, and it is ready for use 
when required. 

Puff-Paste (No. 3). — To every pound of flour allow 
one pound of butter, and not quite a half pint of 
water. 

Carefully weigh the flour and butter, and have the 



G23 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

exact proportion ; squeeze the butter well, to extract 
the water from it, and afterwards wring it in a clean 
cloth, that no moisture may remain. Sift the flour ; 
see that it is perfectly dry, and proceed in the follow- 
ing manner to make the paste, using a very clean 
paste-board and rolling-pin: Supposing the quantity to 
be one pound of flour, work the whole into a smooth 
paste, with not quite a half pint of water, using a knife 
to mix it with ; the proportion of water must be regu- 
lated by the dryness of the flour ; if too much be 
added the paste, when baked, will be tough. Roll it 
out until it is of an equal thickness of about an inch ; 
break four ounces of the butter into small pieces ; 
place these on the paste, sift over it a little flour, fold 
it over, roll out again, and put another four ounces of 
butter. Repeat the rolling and buttering until the 
paste has been rolled out fom' times, or equal quanti- 
ties of flour and butter have been used. Do not omit, 
every time the paste is rolled out, to dredge a little 
flour over that and the rolling-pin, to prevent both 
from sticking. Handle the paste as lightly as possi- 
ble, and do not press heavily upon it with the rolling- 
pin. The next thing to be considered is the oven, as 
the baking of pastry requires particular attention. Do 
not put it into the oven until it is sufficiently hot to 
raise the paste, for the best-prepared paste, if not prop- 
erly baked, will be good for nothing. Brushing the 
paste as often as rolled out, and the pieces of butter 
placed thereon, with the white of an ^^^^ assists it to 
rise in leaves ov flakes. As this is the great beauty of 
puff-paste, it is as well to try this method. 

Medium Puff-Paste (No. 4). — To every pound of 
flour allow eight ounces of butter, four ounces of lard, 
not quite a half pint of water. 

This paste may be made by the directions in the 
preceding recipe, only using less butter and substitut- 
ing lard for a portion of it. Mix the flour to a smooth 
paste with not quite lialf a pint of water ; then roll it 
out three times, the first time covering the paste with 



I THE HOME MECHANIC. 623 

butter, the second with lard, and the third with but- 
ter, and it will be ready for use. Keep the rolling-pin 
and paste slightly dredged with flour, to prevent them 
from sticking. 

Common Paste (No. 5). — One and a quarter pounds 
of flour, half pound of butter, rather more than half a 
pint of water. 

E,ub the butter lightly into the flour, and mix it to 
a smooth paste with the water ; roll it out two or three 
times, and it will be ready for use. This paste may be 
converted into an excellent short-crust by adding to 
the flour, after the butter is rubbed in, two tablespoon - 
fuls of fine-sifted sugar. 

Good Short-Crust for Fruit Tarts (J^o. 6). — To 
every pound of flour allow three-quarters of a pound 
of butter, one tablespoonful of sifted sugar, one-third 
of a pint of water. 

Rub the butter into the flour, after having ascer- 
tained that the latter is perfectly dry ; add the sugar, 
and mix the whole into a stiff paste, with about one- 
third of a pint of water. Roll it out two or three 
times, folding the paste over each time, and it will be 
ready for use. 

Another Good Short-Crust (No. 7). — To every 
pound of flour allow eight ounces of butter, the yelks 
of two eggs, two ounces of sifted sugar, and about a 
quarter of a pint of milk. 

Rub the butter into the flour, add the sugar, and 
mix the whole as lightly as possible to a smooth paste, 
with the yelks of eggs well beaten, and the milk. 
The proportion of the latter ingredient must be judged 
of by the size of the eggs ; if these are large, so much 
will not be required, and more if the eggs are smaller. 

Common Short-Crust (No. 8). — To every pound of 
flour allow two ounces of sifted sugar, three ounces of 
butter, about a half pint of boiling milk. 

Crumble the butter into the flour as finely as possi- 
ble, add the sugar, and work the whole up to a smooth 
paste with the boiling milk. Roll it out thin, and 
bake in a moderate oven. 



624 the home mechanic. 

Pate Bkisee, or French Crust, for Raised Piks 
(No. 9). — To every pound of flour allow lialf a salt- 
spoon t'ul of salt, two eggs, one-third of a pint of water, 
six ounces of butter. 

Spread the flour, which should be sifted and thor- 
oughly dry, on the paste-board ; make a hole in the 
center, into which put the butter; work it lightly into 
the flour, and, when quite flne, add the salt; work the 
whole into a smooth paste with the eggs (yelks and 
whites) and water, and make it very firm. Knead 
the paste well, and let it be rather stiff", that the sides 
of the pie may be easily raised, and that they do not 
afterw^ards tumble or shrink. 

Suet Crust, for Pies or Puddings (No. 10). — To 
every pound of flour allow five or six ounces of beef 
suet, half a pint of water. 

Free the suet from skin and shreds ; chop it ex- 
tremely fine, and rub it well into the flour; work the 
whole to a smooth paste with the above proportion of 
water ; roll it out, and it is ready for use. This crust 
is quite rich enough for ordinary purposes ; but when 
a better one is desired, use from a half to three-quar- 
ters of a pound of suet to every pound of flour. Some 
bakers, for rich crusts, pound the suet in a mortar, with 
a small quantity of butter. It should then be laid on 
the paste in small pieces, the same as for puff"- crust, 
and will be found exceedingly nice for hot tarts. Five 
ounces of suet to every pound of flour will make a very 
good crust ; and even a quarter of a pound will answer 
very well for children, or where the crust is wanted 
very plain. 

Lard Paste (No. 11). — Where the baking of pies is 
conducted on a large scale and the sales quick, as in 
some of the baking companies of New York, the fol- 
lowing is used, and answers very well : 

One barrel of flour, one hundred and twelve pounds 
(1 cwt.) best lard, nine gallons water. 

In summer, iced water.; in winter, water at tlie 
usual temperature. The lard and flour are mixed as 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 625 

lightly as possible. The water is added afterward, and 
also worked in lightly as possible, without touching it 
with the hands. When rolled out, the top and bottom 
crusts are cut with tin cutters, transferred to the tins 
in which they are baked, as w^ell as sold, and baked 
rather brown in slack oven. The above quantity will 
make about eight hundred ten-cent pies (allowing half 
a pound of dough to each pie). 



PIE FILLINGS. 

Mince (No. 1).- — A first-rate mince meat is the fol- 
lowing; 

Of best raisins, currants, sugar, beef and beef suet, ten 
pounds each, two and a half dozen lemons, two and a 
half pounds citron, three and a half pounds sweet 
almond kernels, two and a half pounds bitter almond 
kernels, one hundred and twenty-five large greening 
apples, ten tablespoonsful ground cinnamon, two table- 
spoonsful cloves, ground, same of allspice, ten table- 
spoonsful salt, and ten nutmegs. 

Boil the beef and chop fine separately ; chop the 
suet, apples, almonds and citron separately ; stone and 
chop the raisins ; peel ofi' the outer rind of the lemons 
as thin as possible, and chop fine. This is better than 
grating, as much of the oil of lemons is lost by the 
latter method. The almonds should be pounded in a 
mortar after being chopped, so as to come to a paste, 
or nearly so. The operation is facilitated by adding 
to the almonds occasionally a spoonful of brandy. 

Finally, mix all the ingredients, and add half a pint 
best brandy, with a wooden spoon or paddle, or an 
iron one, which is well tinned. An old iron spoon, 
having some of the tin worn ofi", will impart a little of 
its flavor to the mince meat, unless it is in very con- 
stant use and kept very clean. This mince meat will 
keep, if packed in a stone crock, kept in a cool place, 



626 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Mild moderately well cov,ered, three or four months. 
If put into glass jars, it should be kept in the dark. 

Mince (No. 2). — Ten pounds beef, ten pounds 
sugar, six pounds raisins, six pounds currants, one 
pound citron, two ounces cloves, one ounce nutmeg, 
one peck of apples, if sound ; if not, a peck and a half. 

Proceed as in No. 1, substituj-ing cider for the 
brandy. 

MmcE Meat (No. 3). — Proceed as in Nos. 1 and 2, 
substituting, in each, a portion of seedless raisins for 
an equal portion of those containing seed. Seedless 
raisins are to be chopped. They swell in the baking, 
and there is a large class of customers (Germans and 
Hebrews) with whom the whole raisin is a favorite. 

No. 4. — The same as No. 2, using for a part of 
the sugar molasses or sugar-house syrup. A pint of 
molasses may be considered the equivalent of a pound 
of sugar. This is for ordinary pies in large quanti- 
ties. 

Apple Pie (No. 1) — Sliced. The apples are simply 
peeled, cored and sliced, filled into the bottoms in one 
course ; sugar added in the proportion of six ounces to 
the pound of fruit ; another layer of apples, another 
of sugar, and the top crust is put on. 

Apple (No. 2). — The apples are boiled, mashed to 
a paste, squeezed through a strainer, sweetened with 
sugar at the rate of six ounces to the pound, and 
flavored slightly with lemon, nutmeg, and used as in 
apple No. 1. 

Lemon (No. 1). — Choice (for custom bakery) : 

One orange, one lemon, and one sour apple. Peel, 
take out seeds and cores ; slice and simmer in just 
enough water to cover ; strain, and mix with suflicient 
sugar to sweeten (about four ounces), and flour to 
make a creamy mass. This is one large pie, about 
twelve inches in diameter. No top to this. 

Lemon (No. 2). — For large bakeries : 

One bushel of apples, cored, peeled and boiled to 
pulp, with just enough water to doit; run through a 



■ » THE HOME MECHANIC. 627 

straiifer. Take out the pips of three dozen medium- 
sized lemons, and grate them up into the apple pulp. 

Lemon (Ko. 3). — Twelve dozen eggs, one pound 
corn starch, four dozen lemons, cleared of pips and 
grated, six pounds sugar, two pounds sweet almonds, 
blanched and crushed in a mortar, one pound bitter 
almonds, blanched and crushed in a mortar, two and a 
half citrons, cut into fine shreds, one bottle good 
brandy ; heat gently and stir constantly until it boils 
and thickens. 

Pumpkin. — This is baked in large quantities in the 
Eastern States. The pies are always deep — a full 
inch : 

Peel and remove the seeds of eight pounds of good 
yellow pumpkin ; slice, simmer soft, and mash ; mix 
with sufficient scalded, not boiled, milk to make a 
thick batter. Add, for each quart of milk used, eight 
ounces sugar and four eggs. Beat up well, and pour 
into the bottoms. Grate nutmeg upon the tops. 

(Bakers will find it convenient to have the nutmeg 
ready grated or ground, and used from a pepper-box 
for such operations as the last, as grating a nutmeg 
consumes too much time.) 

Peach. — The peaches are halved and used raw, a 
few, or all, having the pits left in. If the fruit is 
small, use whole ; if very large, slice. The pits add 
considerable to the flavor. Sugar, six to eight ounces 
to each pound of fruit. 

Phubarb. — If the rhubarb is young, use it raw, 
peeling the stalks and cutting into pieces of an inch in 
length. Use eight to twelve ounces or more of sugar 
to the pound of fruit, and flavor with lemon, either 
essence or grated rind. If the rhubarb is old, stew 
first, with an equal weight of sugar and half its weight 
of water. When a stiff pulp, use as a filling. 

Plum. — Like peaches. 

Cherry. — Use some, or all, with the pits ; put 
into the pies with eight to nine ounces of sugar to the 
pound of fruit. 



6-8 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Gooseberry. — Clean the fruit and allow a gill and 
a half of water to every quart of berries, and simmer. 
When soft, strain and add nine to twelve ounces of 
sugar for each pound of the fruit, and boil thirty min- 
utes. 

Cranberry. — Like gooseberry. Many prefer not 
to have the stewed berries strained. 

Currants. — Clean the fruit, and proceed as with 
gooseberries ; or use the fruit raw, tilling in the pies 
with nine to twelve ounces sugar to each pound of 
fruit, if the fruit is ripe ; if green, more sugar. There 
is juice enough in these to cook them while they are 
baking. 

Raspberry. — To every pound of clean fruit add four 
to six ounces sugar, and fill into the pies. They need 
no preparatory cooking. An improvement is to use 
one-foui'th currants, in which case the proportion of 
sugar must be slightly increased. 

Blackberry. — As above, with six to eight ounces 
sugar to the pound of fruit. 

Whortleberry. — As raspberry. 

Custard Pie. — The custard is prepared as follows : 

One and a half pound eggs, one pound sugar, table- 
spoonful flour, two quarts milk. 

Beat the first, add the next two ingredients, beat, 
and finally add milk ; beat to mix thoroughly, and 
pour into the bottoms. Custards should be made in 
dishes not less than a full half inch deep. 

CocoANUT. — One and a half pound eggs, one pound 
sugar, tablespoonful flour, one quart milk. 

Proceed as in custard, and finally add a quarter of 
a pound desiccated cocoanut, which has been pre- 
viously moistened with water ; or the same quantity 
of grated cocoanut. Bake slower than custard, as it 
cooks the cocoanut better. 

Cheese Cake. — Turn sweet milk by a piece of 
rennet or liquid rennet (which can be had of the 
druggist), and put into a warm place. When the milk 
has clotted^ strain ofl' the whey (or water part), and to 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 629 

every one and a half pound curd (the thick part of the 
milk) add : 

Three to four eggs, well beaten ; eight ounces sugar, 
quarter ounce grated nutmeg; mix and fill a bottom 
crust, like custard. 

This cheese cake may be varied by making it more 
or less rich with eggs; more or less sweet with sugar ; 
by flavoring with lemon essence or lemon rind (in the 
latter case, the yellow part of the rind being rubbed 
off with lump sugar and used with the curd, two or 
three lemons being required), or by flavoring with 
orange. It is a popular cake in many parts of the 
world, and nearly every locality differs as to the mode 
of flavoring it. It is filled in and baked like a cus- 
tard. 

Meringue Pies (pronounced may-rang). — These are 
open fruit pies of any kind, baked first without top 
crust, and then covered about an inch deep with a 
light icing made in the proportion of the white of one 
egcr to each tablespoonful of sugar, well beaten. This 
icing is poured upon the top, and the pie set back into 
the oven a few minutes for the icing to set. 

Apple Meringite. — This may be either the pulped 
and strained apples as given in apple pie, or sliced 
apple ; but the former is generally preferred in New 
York. 

Lemon Meringue. — The lemon filling is prepared 
as in Lemon No. 3, and the Meringue icing added, 
as described under the paragraph " Meringue Pies." 

All the fruit pies may be treated in the same way, 
but the meringue seems to suit the lemon and apple 
best. 

Making the Pie, — ^The bottom crust is made a little 
larger than need be, so as not only to come up the side 
of the baking dish, but a little over the edge, and the 
(Mlge all round the dish moistened slightly ; the fruit 
is filled in, and the top crust, also a little larger than 
need be, laid on; then with the back of both hands 
press the top and bottom paste together on the edge 



630 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

of the dish, pinching off the surplus paste ; the lower 
crust having been moistened, the two are pasted well 
together keeping in the- fruit juice. If the juice is 
kept in, the baking dishes will need no greasing. The 
top crust sliould be pricked, and, in large bakeries, the 
initial of the fruit is pricked into the crust, so that no 
mistakes are made in selling. The dough pinched off 
the edges is used for bottoms, or other work. Some 
pastry cooks like to trim off the ed2;es with a knife, 
instead of squeezing with the hands, and finish with a 
little wheel made for the purpose, and sold by dealers 
in confectioners' materials. The hands are the quick- 
est, and give the pies a plumpness in the center which 
is liked by the customers for pies sold by wholesale, 
as it gives the pies a home-made look. 

GLAziNa roR Pies, Etc. — City bakers finish their 
pies with a glazing which adds to their appearance. 
This is what gives the glossy look to what is specially 
known as French pastry. The method is to beat up 
the white of egg well, and with a brush give the- top 
of the pastry a light coat ; then dredge some powdered 
sugar upon it, and finish by giving a little sprinkle of 
of water from a brush. A similar effect on cheaper 
goods is to brush over some thin syrup made with 
white sugar. 

Puffs and Turn-Overs.- — ^These consist simply of 
puff paste formed in squares, filled with fruit (about a 
tablespoonful) or any other pie material, turned over 
so as to make a triangular shape, the edges which 
meet, moistened and pinched firmly together, glazed 
and baked. Another shape is circular before filling, 
and becomes semi-circular when turned over and 
closed. The triangular form is considered the most 
Frenchy^ and the best puff paste only is used for 
them. At Delmonico's, Rudolph's and other fashion- 
able down-town restaurants, this is a popular form of 
pastry. 

Baked Dumplings. — In New York and vicinity, 
and in Boston, the baked dumpling has almost super- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 63i 

seded the boiled article. Baked dumplings are made 
with any fruit in its natural state, put into the middle 
of a square of puff paste, the corners of which are 
turned up and fastened by moistening the place where 
they lap over, in the usual way ; the dumpling is then 
glazed and baked exactly as a pie, but a little longer. 
No sugar is added to the fruit previous to baking, as 
the sauce with which it is eaten supplies that. All 
the pie fruits can be used for dumplings. In using 
apples, the fruit is cored with a corer, and peeled and 
halved so as to insure thorough cooking ; this also 
gives a chance to pick out small pieces of the core 
that might be left. With peaches, a single large 
peach is used, and the pit is left in. Two small 
peaches may be used. Blackberries are also used for 
dumplings, but the other fruits not much. 

Boiled Dumplings. — A crust may be made as fol- 
lows : 

One pound flour, two eggs, half pint milk, half 
ounce baking powder. 

Mix and work into a moderately stiff paste, with 
more flour if needed ; roll out into squares about a 
quarter inch thick, and put the fruit in as described in 
baked dumpling, but be sure that the cover is so tight 
that no water can get into the dumpling. Boil forty - 
Ave minutes to one hour. This makes a fair article 
when fresh, but if an hour old, even if kept warm, it 
gets tough. A better crust, more laborious to make, 
however, is: 

One pound flour, half pound suet, two eggs, milk 
to mix. 

Chop the suet fine and mix with the flour ; add the 
eggs, beaten, and then the milk to make a stifiish 
dough. Roll out and proceed as in preceding para- 
graph. 

Tarts. — All the pie fruits, preserves, jellies, jams 
and other fillings may be used for tarts, which are 
merely good puff-paste cut into small, round pies with- 
mit top. They may be made deep in tins for the pur- 



632 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

pose, or they may be baked flat on baking sheets. In 
the case of raw fruits they must be made deep to liold 
the juice; in the case of preserved fruits and jellies 
they can be baked flat. A not unusual form of tart 
is one in which the paste alone is baked, and the jam, 
jelly or preserved fruit put in just before serving. 
This makes a very good tart and is quickly prepared. 

It adds to the attractiveness of tarts to have a little 
ornamental work of pie crust on the top of the fruit. 
This usually consists of strips of the paste crossed and 
fastened to the edge of the bottom crust by moistening 
the ends and pinching the two crusts together. 

Mutton Pies. — These are made by bakers who keep 
lunch-counters, by restaurant pastry-cooks and by 
wholesale bakers in large cities. When fresh they 
sell readily, for they can be aflbrded at reasonable 
prices of an excellent quality, as the cheaper parts of 
the mutton can be used. The method is simple 
enough. Line a dish of the proper dimensions — these 
in city lunch bakeries are 2|- to 3 inches in diameter 
and about ^ inch deep — with a paste such as is desig- 
nated under the puff pastes either IS^o. 9 or 'No. 10. Put 
in the mutton, with proper seasoning of pepper, salt, 
and some like a shred of parsley and thyme. The latter 
must be very sparingly used. Add a tablespoonful of 
water. Put on the lid and bake a light brown in a 
quick heat. Beef, veal and pork pies are made in the 
same way. Beef should not be seasoned with any- 
thing but pepper and salt, though a little fat bacon 
may be used with it. Pork will bear high seasoning. 

Oyster Pies. — These are made in two ways. The 
first method is to line the dish with a good puff paste 
and bake it. Then put in the o^^sters raw, with a 
little salt and a teaspoonful of milk and a tablespoon- 
ful of their own liquor. Put on the top crust and 
bake 8 to 12 minutes. 

The second method is to stew the oysters first in 
their own liquor and an equal quantity of milk for a 
few minutes, until they are plump. Then, having the 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 633 

dishes lined with puff paste, fill two-thirds full of oys- 
ters and juice, add crushed crackers a teaspoonful, salt 
and pepper. Put on the cover and bake until a light 
brown. The pies are better without the crushed 
cracker, but the latter makes the oysters go farther. 

YoL AU Yent. — This is a peculiar form of patty or 
tart in which a foundation of pastry serves for the 
reception of fruit, meat or oysters. The mode of pre- 
paring it is as follows : Koll out good puff paste into 
a circular sheet about 2|- inches in diameter, and from 
a half inch to an inch in thickness according to the 
quality of your paste. If the latter is calculated to 
rise in the baking very much, it must not be so thick — 
in other words, the riclier your puff paste the thinner 
you make your vol au vent in the beginning. Then 
mark, on the upper side of your round paste a ring 
say of an inch and a half in diameter. This may be 
done with some round tin box lid or a cutter made 
for the purpose. Do not cut through the dough, go 
about one-third the depth. IMow bake the paste 
lightly, say about three-quarters. Withdraw it from 
the oven, and with a knife-blade take off the round 
center of the crust within the mark you made. This 
will be easy, as it is separated from the rest of the 
crust by the mark you made. This is intended for a 
lid to the vol au vent when done. Now dig out the 
center of the vol au vent, so that it will receive the 
fruit, meat or oysters you intend to insert. Put in any 
filling you wish, seasoned as directed in previous 
recipes. Put on the lid and bake again until done, 
say eight to twenty minutes. This is a popular form 
for serving up oysters in many New York lunch 
bakeries and restaurants, and is quite profitable. 



MEKINGUES. 

Meringues may be described as baked icing. They are 
made as follows : To the wliites of ten of the freshest 



634 THE HOME MECHANIC. ' ^ *■ 

eggs you can procure add gradually twelve ounces pow- 
dered sugar, working the two together with a long, 
light sweeping motion. This must be in a deep dish or 
pan, free from grease. When the mixture is stiff enough 
to hold its form, have some planed inch boards, con- 
venient to handle, which have first been soaked in 
water, covered with sheets of writing-paper. Form a 
portion of the meringue with a tablespoon into a 
round mass and drop it upon the paper ; this soon 
settles by its own weight to the proper shape. Follow 
this method until jour material has been used up, sift 
some powdered sugar over them, and then put the me- 
ringues, board and all, into a very moderate oven, so 
that the meringues may set firmly and brown lightly 
on top. When you perceive that they are stiff and a 
little brown, take them out, lift them off the papers 
with a palette knife, and dig out or crush in the soft 
bottoms. The object of the water-soaked boards is to 
keep the bottoms soft. After the bottoms have been 
dug out or crushed in, put the meringues on a baking 
sheet and give them ten to fifteen minutes more in the 
oven to harden. When done, take out and fill the in- 
side with a cream prepared for the purpose, flavored 
with vanilla or almond, or with any preserved fruit, 
stick two meringues together and serve. None of the 
contents of the meringue should show on the outside. 



MACCAEOONS. 

One pound sweet almonds, one ounce bitter al- 
monds, one pound and a half of sugar, whites of eight 
eggs. 

Blanch the almonds (that is, scald them and slip off 
the skins), shred or chop them and then reduce to a paste 
in a mortar, adding every few minutes some of the sugar 
with the frequent addition of a drop or two of simple 
water, lemon-juice or orange-flower water. When re- 



THK HOME MECHANIC. 635 

dnced to a paste, pass through a fionr seive, and add 
the whites of the eggs. If the ahuoiid paste is dry and 
tough use the larger quantity of eggs, if moist, use less. 
Beat well together, and try by baking one or two 
drops (it takes but a few minutes). If the drops keep 
their shape, all right, if not, add a little more sugar ; 
if too stiff, add a little white of one and mix again. 
When just right, drop them on an oiled or waxed 
paper Avith the confectioner's pipe and bag, an inch 
apart, and give a dust of sugar. If they do not open 
or crack nicely on top, as they should do while baking, 
brush over or sprinkle lightly with water. Bake on a 
baking sheet in a moderate heat to a golden brown. 

Italian Maccakoons. — Are the same as the ones 
described except that they are rolled in or covered 
with the small comfits or nonpareils (see Haney's Candy 
Maker, page 65). The comfits used are white only, 
and the heat employed is hardly more than a drying 
heat so as not to color them. 

Almond Cakes. — Same as plain maccai'oons, only 
slightly larger and with bits of cut almonds stuck in 
the top. 

Swedish Maccakoons. — One half pound sweet al- 
monds, one half ounce bitter almonds, one half pound 
powdered sugar, two ounces maizena, one egg, and 
one orange. 

Blanch the almonds and chop them tolerably fine, 
but do not crush them. Mix all your ingredients, ex- 
cept the orange, rub off the yellow part of the rind of 
this on lumps of sugar and add to the ingredients. 
Squeeze the orange juice into the mass and stir well 
up. Form into rounded balls size of an English wal- 
nut, give a dust of sugar and put on a baking sheet an 
inch apart and bake a light brown. 

Pea Nut or Ground Nut Maccaroons. — In the 
same proportions and same method as almond macca- 
roons, but using pea nuts only instead of almonds. Be 
careful to remove the skins. A heaped teaspoonful 
of flour should be added to every pound of nuts. 



636 THE HOME MECHANIC. v ^ 

Chocolate Macc argons. — As almond maccarooris, 
using one half pound almonds and one half pound 
chocolate instead of one pound almonds. A teaspoon- 
fnl of flour helps to give proper adhesiveness to the 
mass, and should be added. 

Wafers, Wafer Kisses, Almond Wafers. — Quarter 
pound sweet almonds, three quarters pound sugar, 
quarter pound flour, two pounds egg whites. 

Treat sugar and ahnonds as for maccaroons, beat 
the mixture with two pounds of egg whites and add the 
flour. Stir the whole well together until intimatel}^ 
mixed, then layout one-eighth of an inch thick — round, 
oval or square — on a baking sheet or waxed paper, and 
let them set for a minute or two. Bake them a light 
bro^vn and as soon as done curl them and insert in a 
board with inch-augur holes all over it, so that they 
will keep their shape, or curl them around a round 
iron or stick, and as soon as they are set, put them 
into paper bags, or glass jar, or tin box, which can 
keep them from the air. 

These wafers are sold in this shape without filling, 
as well as fllled with a cream or batter like that used 
for cream cakes. When they are required fllled they 
should be curled in cone form like the ordinary bag 
a grocer makes, so as to retain the cream. 

Wafer No. 2. — One pound flour, one pound sugar, 
nine egg whites, teaspoonful vanilla essence, small tea- 
spoonful salt, one quart cream, two tablesponsful 
brand}^ 

Work well together into a nice batter, bake an 
eighth of an inch thick, as in No. 1., and curl as be- 
fore, or leave flat. The curl adds to their inviting ap- 
pearance and helps the sale. The method of laying 
out wafers is to di'op suflicient of the batter upon the 
oil or paper, and with the back of the spoon, working 
it down to the required thickness and shape, or to 
use a wafer-iron, which is made for the purpose, and 
which bakes the wafer from the two sides. 

Wafer No. 3. — One pound flour, half pound sugar, 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 637 

fifteen egg whites, one tablespoonful of salt, twenty 
drops vanilla essence, two tablespoonsful brandy, or 
any cordial or liqueur to taste, one quart of cream. 

Add the whites and cream alter all the rest of the 
ingredients have been well mixed. Work into a 
smootli paste and then bake them as in the preceding 
recipes. 



GINGERBEEADS. 

On the large scale, bakers will use alum for their 
gingerbreads, probably in the belief that alum gives 
the baked product a keeping quality which otherwise 
it would not possess. We need not say that alum 
should never be used. The basis of it is insoluble in 
the stomach, and its particles are apt to lodge and 
form nuclei for the formation of stone and gravel — 
distressing complaints, which are becoming more 
widely spread every day. We give the alum for- 
mula, however, as well as others in which its use is 
avoided. The gingerbreads baked without alum are 
in every way as good in point of flavor and appearance 
as those with alum. It is only in their resistance to 
the moisture of the atmosphere that there is any 
difference between the two. 

The chief difficulty in making gingerbreads is to get 
them light enough. If newly mixed the snaps or 
cakes will not be light enough. Hence, the dough, 
which gives the lightness, is prepared some time in ad- 
vance. This is done as follows : 

Method (No. 1). — Fifty-six pounds molasses; dis- 
solve two pounds alum in two quarts of hot water. 
When dissolved, bring to a boil, or boil and replace 
any water that may be lost by evaporation. When 
dissolved and boiling, turn into the molasses and stir 
it well. At the same time dissolve four pounds car- 
bonate of potash or pearlash in two or three quarts of 
water, and add this to the mixture. Stir well, add 



638 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

sufficient flour to make a stiff dough. Set this away 
for six to eight days, and use it under the name of old 
dough, as will be shown in the recipes. 

i^ow prepare another fifty-six pounds of molasses in 
precisely a similar way, excepting the flour, and only 
make the dough when wanted. This is called " new 
dough." 

The old dough is used for the rising. 

Method (No. 2, for Snaps). — Work up fifty-six 
pounds molasses, and one-half pound alum and one- 
half pound soda, in the same way as above. Mix with 
sufficient flour to make a good stiff dough. Allow it 
to ripen for eight or ten days, and then mix with the 
flavoring ingredients, without any new dough. We 
shall call this method No. 2. 

Thick Gingerbread (No. 1) — For large bakeries. 
One hundred pounds old dough, fifty pounds new 
dough, twelve pounds new sweet lard or butter, twelve 
pounds yellow sugar, three pounds ginger (ground), 
one-half pound cayenne pepper, three pounds mixed 
spices. Make a stiffish dough, and put into such 
sizes as you adapted to your business. It should be 
from an inch and a quarter to tw^o inches thick, when 
baked. Some bake in deep square pans, making a 
deep groove leno^thwise with a confectioner's hoar- 
hound cutter. This allows long strips of a definite 
size to be cut. The top should always be pricked. 
Ornament in any way. Gingerbread may be baked 
on flat sheets, with movable wooden sides higli enough 
to keep the dough from curling over. Do not touch 
the cakes until the}^ are nearly or quite baked, or they 
will fall and become heavy. Keep the oven door shut, 
while they are baking, as much as possible. Moisten 
the tops with water before putting into the oven, and 
glaze them with a little thin gelatine water when they 
come out. Several cakes may be baked side by side 
on the baking sheet if the sides of each have a touch 
of the grease brush. 

Snaps. — For large bakeries: Take fifty pounds 



> ^ 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 639 



dongh prepared as in method No. 2; add ten pounds 
sweet lard, fifteen pounds yellow sugar, one and a half 
pounds powdered ginger or one pound ginger and one- 
quarter pound cayenne pepper; work thoroughly; roll 
out to a thickness of one-eighth inch. Cut out the 
snaps with a tin cutter ; put on baking sheet and bake 
in a lively heat. These snaps remain firm quite a 
long time if kept with any care. 

Ginger Nuts. — Spice nuts may be made the same 
way — rolling out the dough thicker and cutting it into 
long strips. Then, with a scraper, cut ofl:' equal por- 
tions from several strips at once; give each lump half a 
turn between the two hands to partly round, and throw 
as fast as made into a seive, with a dust of flour over 
them. When you have a seive full give the seive a 
dextrous twirl or two from left to right, and it will 
complete the rounding. Put on baking sheets and 
bake like snaps. The nuts may also be formed b}" 
passing strips of dough through a machine built for 
the purpose and similar to machines for forming can- 
dies into specified shapes. The dealers in confec- 
tioners' materials keep this sort of machine, as also do 
the dealers in cracker machinery. 

Ginger Nuts (No. 2). — One barrel of flour, twenty 
gallons sugar-house syrup, eighty-four pounds yellow 
or brow^n sugar, fortj^-two pounds butter or sw^eet lard, 
seven pounds ginger (ground), one and a half pounds 
cinnamon, one-quarter pound red pepper, fourteen 
ounces carbonate of soda, seven ounces muriatic acid. 

No. 2. — One barrel of flour, twenty gallons syrup, 
thirty -six pounds brown sugar, twenty pounds butter 
or fresh lard, four pounds ground ginger, one-half 
pound carbonate of soda, one-half pound muriatic acid, 
two ounces essence of lemon. 

No. 3. — One barrel flour, twenty gallons molasses 
or syrup, sixty pounds brown sugar, forty pounds 
butter or lard, six and a half ounces cream tartar, six 
and a half ounces muriatic acid, one and a quarter 
pounds carbonate of soda, seven pounds ground 



640 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ginger, tliree-qnarters of a pound ground cinnamon, 
three ounces essence of lemon. 

The above are all made in the same wa3^ The flour 
and sugar are sifted together, butter or lard rubbed in, 
the spices are added, and a bay made for the molasses. 
Dissolve the soda in very little water, pour into the 
middle of the bay, add the molasses, stir in some 
flour, then add the muriatic acid, stir in more flour, 
add the cream of tartar, and then finish working it as 
soon as you can. Let it be a rather soft dough. Form 
into nuts by the speediest method, and get them into 
a moderate oven. 

On the small scale the following will be found better 
recipes to follow than those given for large bakeries. 

Ginger Snaps. — One pound sugar, one pound but- 
ter or lard, two pounds molasses or syrup, one pound 
water, two ounces carbonate of soda, four ounces pow- 
dered ginger, one ounce cayenne pepper. Mix with 
flour to make a stifiish dough, cut out, bake in a mod- 
erate oven. Omit the pepper if it makes them too 
warm. A few drops of essence of lemon is liked by 
many. 

Ginger Cae:es. — The same as above, doubling the 
proportion of soda. Work lightly together, pour into 
pans any deptli from one-quarter of an inch to three- 
quarters, pass a wet brush over the top and bake in a 
lively oven. 

White Ginger Nuts. — ^Four pounds flour, two and 
a half pounds granulated sugar, four ounces butter or 
lard, one pint milk, one ounce carbonate ammonia, 
one-half ounce ginger, one-half ounce caraway seeds, 
one-quarter ounce cinnamon, nutmeg and mace each. 
Rub the butter in with the flour, ada the sugar with 
the spices ; make a bay, pour in the milk, having pre- 
viously dissolved the carbonate of ammonia therein ; 
mix into a stiff paste, and add a teaspoonful of essence 
of lemon. Work and shape one or two ; try in the oven. 
If they do not crack sufliciently, add a little more 
ammonia dissolved in milk. Some of the spices may 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 641 

be omitted, and the nuts may be made hotter by 
adding a half teaspoonfnl of cayenne pepper. 

Honey Cakes, or Honey Gingerbread. — Three 
pounds flour, one pound and three-quarters brown 
sugar, one-half pound preserved orange peel, one-half 
pound preserved lemon peel, one-half pound blanched 
almonds, one ounce cinnamon powdered, one-quarter 
ounce cardanions, cloves, nutmegs, mace, powdered ; 
yellow rind of two lemons rubbed off on sugar lumps, 
two pounds honey, one giil water. Heat the honey 
and water together in a sauce pan; make it nearly boil- 
ing. Mix the flour and spices dry, the peel and 
almonds having been previously chopped fine ; make 
a bay, and pour in the honey-water, hot, and mix to 
a tolerably stiff dough. Let it stand to next day. 
Then mix with it one-half ounce carbonate of ammo- 
nia, or soda dissolved in a little milk, and work into a 
dough again. Roll it out one-quarter to three-eighths 
of an inch thick; put on buttered baking tin and 
bake. This is also iced in some places with grained 
sugar. The method is to boil some loaf sugar in a 
copper sauce pan to the blow (see Haney's Candy 
Maker) ; to grain the sugar against the sides of the 
pan with a spoon ; that is, to rub so that it looks 
opaque and white, not transparent, and then to pour 
it upon the gingerbread and spread it with a knife. 

German Gingerbread. — Same as the last, but 
baked on floured baking sheets instead of greased 
ones. It makes the- I)ottoms somewhat different in 
appearance and consistency. 

Ginger Wafers. — One pound flour, one pound 
brown sugar, one-half pound butter or lard, one ounce 
ground ginger, yellow rind of two lemons rubbed off 
on sugar lumps. Rub the butter into the flour; add 
all the sugar, and mix, with the aid of their syrup or 
molasses, into a thin paste. Drop upon baking sheets 
about an inch in diameter, four or five inches apart, 
as they are intended to spread to a diameter of two to 
three inches. Bake in a moderate oven, and when 



642 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

still warm, curl them around a stick (mandril) or give 
them a twist with the fingers, and insert in a board 
full of holes for the purpose. When cool put away in 
closed tins. 

Ginger Jumbles, Italian Jumbles, Brandy Snaps. 
— ^These are all made like the last, with these excep- 
tions. The sugar is slightly increased, and only one- 
third the proportion of ginger is used. The brandy 
snaps are sold flat. 

Lemon Cakes. — Take any portion of molasses, pre- 
pared as in the manner first described on page 92, and 
in an earthern pan ; make it to a soft batter with flour. 
Flavor with essence of lemon and fill into small pans 
well buttered. Bake in a moderate oven. If the first 
do not stand up enough, add a little flour ; if they ap- 
pear too tight, add molasses. When they are done, 
take them out ; allow a few minutes to cool, then put 
them into the proving room^ or closet, or into an ex- 
hausted oven to dry hard. 

Other forms of gingerbread are only variations of 
these recipes, which will suggest themselves to any 
baker. There are cutters that will produce popular 
shapes, which can be purchased of the confectioners' 
supply stores, or newshapesmay be devised. In some 
quarters, sheet gingerbread is given a dab of red, blue 
and white sugar. The baker should be careful that his 
colored sugars are innocent. Ingenuity and taste 
have a field here as elsewhere in charming the pennies 
out of the pockets of the customer. 



OE:tTAMENTING CAKES, &c. 

We have already given a description of icing on a 
previous page. In making icing it is well to remem- 
ber that putting in sufficient lemon juice to make the 
icing taste acid will prevent its scaling off in flakes. 
Tbis makes the icing hard and adherent, and by many 



THE HOME JIECHANIO. 643 

it is preferred softer, but for pastry and ornamental 
work it should be made hard, as we suggest above. 

On Piping Cakes. — This is a method of ornament- 
ing wedding cakes and other articles with icing, by 
means of small pipes or tubes ; these are often made 
with writing paper folded in the form of a cone, in the 
same manner as a grocer makes up his papers for small 
lots of sugar, tea, &c. The tube is filled with icing, 
made as for cakes, the base of the cone, or the place 
where it was filled, is turned down to prevent the 
sides opening, and the escape of the icing ; the point 
is then cut oif with a sharp knife or scissors, so as to 
make a hole sufiiciently large to form the icing, when 
squeezed or pressed out, into a thread of the required 
size, and which will either be fine or coarse according 
to the length of the point which is cut ofi". If the hole 
at the point of the cone is not perfectly straight when 
the icing is pressed out, it will form a spiral thread, 
which is very inconvenient to work with. Stars, bor- 
ders, flowers and difierent devices are formed on cakes 
after they are iced, the execution of which depends on 
the ability and ingenuity of the artist. Baskets, Chi- 
nese and other temples, &c., are formed on moulds hj 
these means, first giving them a coating of white wax, 
which is brushed over them after it is melted, and 
when cold, the icing is formed on it like trellis-work ; 
when finished the mould is warmed and the icing 
easily comes ofi". Some of the pipes which are used 
cannot be formed with paper, as the tape and star- 
pipes, which are made of tin, having a bag fastened to 
them in a similar manner to that generally used for 
dropping out Savoy biscuits, macaroons, &c., only 
much smaller, the point of the tin tube of the one 
being fiuted to form a star, and in the other it is fiat, 
so that when the icing is forced or squeezed through, 
it comes out in a broad, thin sheet, like a piece of 
tape. There are special machines, bags and tubes 
made for this work by those who supply confectioners' 
materials. They are not costly, and do* the work 



C44 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

easier than home-made implements. These pipes 
should be, in the hands of the confectioner, what the 
pencil or brush is to the painter — capable of perform- 
ing wonders with men of genius. Some of the bon- 
bons, which may be seen in the shops, are proofs of 
what I assert; and many things are so cleverly done, 
that many persons would believe that they were either 
formed in a mould or modelled. I have not space to 
enlarge further on this subject, but much more might 
be given in explanation ; therefore the, artist must be 
guided by his own genius and fancy. 

Gum Paste. — Take one ounce of picked gum-trag- 
acanth ; wash it in water to takeoff any dust or dirt; 
put it into a clean pot, and pour on it rather more than 
less, half a pint of water, or sufficient to cover the gum 
about an inch ; stir it frequently, to accelerate the so- 
lution ; it will take twenty-four hours to dissolve; 
then squeeze it out through a coarse cloth, taking care 
that everything employed in the making is very clean, 
or it will spoil the color ; put it into a mortar, adding 
gradually six or eight ounces of powdered loaf sugar; 
work it well with the pestle, until it becomes a very 
M^hite, smooth paste; put it into a glazed pot, cover 
the paste with a damp cloth, and turn the pot upside- 
down on an even surface, to exclude the air. When 
it is wanted, take a little of it and put it on a clean 
marble, and work some more sugar into it with the 
fingers until it is a firm paste, which will break when 
pulled ; if it is not stiff enough, it will roll up under 
the knife when you cut it from the impressions in your 
paste board ; if it is too stiff, work in a little of your 
prepared paste w^ith it, to soften it. When your paste 
works harsh and cracks, it has too much gum in it ; in 
tins case use a little water to work it down ; and if 
tlie gum is too thin, it will crack and dry too soon 
from the excess of sugar, therefore add some more 
strained gum that has not been mixed with sugar. If 
it is required colored, add a little prepared cochineal, 
or any other color in fine powder ; mix it in on the 



1 THE HOME MECHANIC. 645 

stone. If they are to be flavored with any essence, 
add it at the same time. This paste is fit to be eaten. 

Common Gum Paste. — Take some of the prepared 
paste, as for the last, and work into it on the stone 
some very fine starch powder, using equal quantities 
of starch and sugar. Tliis may also be made witli 
rice flour, instead of starch. These are chiefly used 
for pieces montees, or stock pieces. It may be moul- 
ded or modeled into any form, or cut out from figures 
or borders carved in wood, called gum-paste boards, 
using a little starch powder to prevent its sticking 
whilst working it ; a little tied up in a small muslin 
bag is the handiest for use. When you want to get 
the paste from the impressions in the boards, take a 
small piece of paste and press it at each end; if it 
does not come out very readily, moisten the piece and 
touch that in the impression at three or four places, 
which, being damp, adheres to it and draws it out. 

This and the next preparation may be used for 
copying any ornament you may see, by taking an im- 
pression of it. 

Gum Paste, for Ornaments. — Prepare some gum, 
as before ; moisten plaster of Paris with water, making 
it of the consistence of thick cream ; let it set, and dry 
it in the stove until perfectly dry ; pound it, and 
moisten it again ; let it dry as before ; then pound and 
sift it through a lawn sieve, and use it to mix with the 
gum instead of sugar ; add a little starch powder to 
harden it. This is principally used for making the 
ornaments which are put on cakes for showy or great 
public occasions. If any parts are required to be put 
together, the paste should remain until half dry be- 
fore it is finished, as it is very apt to shrink. Not to 
be eaten. 

Paste FOR Gilding on. — Take some dissolved gum, 
as before, and make it into a paste with whitening 
ground very fine, adding a little starch powder to finish 
it ; or it may be made with some of the prepared 
sugar gum-paste, finishing it with whitening and 
starch powder. 



646 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Papier Machee. — Take the cuttings of either white 
or brown paper, and boil them in water until reduced 
to a paste ; press the water from it when cold enough, 
and pound it well in a mortar ; put it into a pan or 
glazed pipkin, with a little gum Arabic, or common 
glue, made into rather a thick mucilage with water ; 
this is to give it tenacity ; place it on the lire and stir 
it until well incorporated ; if it is not stiff enough 
when cold, flour may be added to make it of the proper 
consistence ; it should be about the same substance as 
gum-paste. This may be used for forming the rocks 
of a piece montee, or for vases, &c. ; in fact, anything 
you desire may be made with it, as with gum-paste ; 
it is very durable, not being easily broken, and is very 
light ; it is now much used, instead of composition, 
for the decoration of rooms and articles of furniture. 
It may be moulded or modeled into any form, or cut 
from impressions in wood or plaster, &c. When the 
object is dry, give it a coating of composition, made 
with parchment size, and whitening or lamp-black, 
mixed to the consistence of oil paint, according to the 
color it is required. Smooth it with glass paper, and 
paint or gild as wood, or japan it. 

To Gild Gum Paste, &c. — Those articles which 
are gilt are seldom intended to be eaten, therefore first 
give them a coating of parchment size and whitening, 
as the papier machee, or paint them with oil color. 
When this is dry, brush over a coat of gold size, and 
let it remain until nearly dry, or so as it will stick to 
the fingers a little; then take a small dry brush, 
termed by gilders a tip ; rub a little grease over the 
back of your hand, and pass the brush over it gently ; 
apply it to the gold leaf, which it will take up, and 
place it on the part you intend to gild ; blow on it to 
make it smooth ; the gold leaf may first be divided 
into small pieces w4th a knife on a leather pad or 
cushion, to suit the size of your work ; rub it over 
gently with a piece of wool,' to make it appear glossy. 
Those parts which have not taken the gold, just 



' THE HOME MECHANIC. 647 

breathe on, then apply a small piece of the leaf, and 
rub again with the wool. If your piece is intended to 
be eaten, let the paste be perfectly dry and smooth ; 
then prepare some mucilage of gum Arabic, strain it, 
and grind it well with an equal portion of white sugar 
candy; lay it over the part you intend to gild with a 
stiff brush ; when dry, breathe on it, so as to moisten 
it, and gild as before. 

To Bronze Gum Paste. — Prepare your object, if 
not to be eaten, as for gilding, giving it a coat of 
invisible green, prepared with turpentine, a little japan 
gold size, and a small portion of oil ; when it is nearl}'- 
dry, dip a litch pencil in some bronze powder, shake 
off the loose pieces which hang about the brush, and 
apply it to the parts you wish to assume the appear- 
ance of copper which are in general the most prom- 
inent. 

Another method. — Smooth your figure with sand- 
paper, and give it a coat of dissolved isinglass, or 
parchment size ; when this is dry, give it a coat of 
color made as follows : Take a sufficient quantity of 
prepared indigo and a little yellow ochre or saffron, 
in such proportions as to make a deep green ; grind 
them together with white of egg and powdered sngar- 
candy, or with parchment size ; give it a coat of this, 
and when nearly dry apply the bronze as before. 

Of Pieces Montees. — These are in general made 
to represent buildings of all descriptions, fountains, 
trophies, vases, cups, helmets, the last being generally 
mounted on pedestals and filled with flowers, fruit, 
&c. ; also rocks, bridges, fortifications, &c., <fec., the 
building, &c., being generally made with gum paste, 
confectioners' or almond pastes. The bodies of rocks 
may be formed with pieces of rock sugar, cakes, bis- 
cuits, &c., of all descriptions, being fixed together 
with caramel sugar ; those not intended to be eaten 
may be made with papier machee and common gum 
paste ; the rocks or bottoms of these are often formed 
with pieces of cork, flocks, and paper, the surface being 



648 THE HOME MECHANIC, , 

afterwards covered witli a coating of very thin icing, 
which is applied with a brush. 

To construct 3^our pieces with accuracy, first cut 
out your intended design in stout paper, in suitable 
parts to be put together ; then roll out the paste thin 
on a marble stone; lay 3'our pattern on it, and cut 
your paste to it with a small, sharp-pointed knife ; let 
it dry, and fix it together with some dissolved gum, or 
a little gum paste made rather thin with water. Cut 
your ornaments or decorations from pasteboards ; let 
them dry a few minutes, and fix them in their proper 
places. Water may be represented with a piece of 
looking-glass, and falling water with silver web or 
spun glass. 

Biscuit Paste to Imitate Maeble Rocks, &c., for 
Pieces Montees. — Prepare some paste as for sponge 
cakes ; take one-third of the mixture, and add to it 
some dissolved chocolate ; stir the whole well together, 
and divide into two equal portions ; to one part add 
some more of the mixture, when you will have a light 
and a dark brow^n ; mix together some prepared coch- 
ineal or carmine and infusion of saffron, to make a 
dark orange, and stir this into another portion of 
paste ; divide it, and add to one part some more of 
the paste, which v^^ill give a light and dark orange ; 
butter or paper a square tin, and put in a spoonful of 
each colored paste in rotation, spreading it with the 
spoon so as it may appear in layers, beginning with 
the dark colors, and so alternately until the whole is 
used ; or one-half of each may be put into another tin, 
and mixed all together, so that it may appear in veins ; 
bake in a moderate oven, and when cold cut it into 
pieces as it is required, to represent pieces of rock, 
marble, &c. For variety, the paste may be colored 
with spinach green, infusion of saffron, red and blue, 
and either put in layers or mixed together as before. 

Pate d' Office, ok Confectioners' Paste. — Take 
one pound and a quarter of fine flour and ten ounces 
of powdered loaf sugar; make a bay, and put in it a 



^"^ _ THE HOME MECHANIC. 649 

sufficient quantity of the yelks or whites of eggs, or 
whole eggs, to make it into a moderate stiff paste ; 
work it well, and make it quite smooth ; let it remain 
covered over for a short time, that it may get mellow. 
If this paste is required white and delicate, use the 
whites only of the eggs. This is used for the frame- 
work or building of the pieces montees, or for the bot- 
tom or foundation on which you build your biscuits, 
sugar, &c. Roll it out on an even board or marble 
slab until it is about one-sixth of an inch in thickness, 
or more, according to the weight it has to bear. Dust 
your sheet, and roll it on the pin ; then lay or roll it 
over a baking-plate slightly buttered ; press out any 
air-bladders which may be underneath, and prick it 
with the point of a sharp-pointed knife in a few places ; 
lay on your patterns, cut it out to the desired form, and 
bake in a moderate oven ; or it may be cut out when 
the paste is half baked, and finish baking it afterwards ; 
or it may be dried in the stove instead of being baked. 
If it should be blistered when it is taken from the oven, 
put it immediately on an even board, and place another 
on it; remove it when it is cold, and it will be quite 
straight. 

This paste may be made with the addition of half 
an ounce of dissolved gum-dragon, pounding it well in 
a mortar, and using less eggs. Each of these may be 
colored to any desired tint, when it should be dried in 
a stove instead of being baked. Fix the parts together 
when finished, with some of the same paste made thin 
with dissolved gum, or with caramel sugar ; ornament 
it with spun sugar, or with colored sugar-sands. 

From this paste, or almond paste, may be made cot- 
tages, temples, fountains, pyramids, castles, bridges, 
hermits' cells, vases, or any other required forms, which 
are to be made in different pieces and put together 
afterwards, or formed in moulds, and either baked or 
dried in the stove. 

Modeling. — Tlie human figure, animals, &c., can 
only be modeled by the aid of modeling tools, which 



650 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

can be purchased of the dealers in artists' materials. 
Little books teaching the art can also be secured in the 
same way. The expense is not great, and any ambi- 
tious young baker or confectioner, who has a little 
taste for art, can, by their help, soon pick up enough 
skill in the tools to considerably increase his earnings 
and reputation in his profession. 



CEACKEES OR BISCUITS. 

Crackers are now made almost entirely by the aid of 
steam or water power and special machinery, which 
not only mixes and brakes or kneads the dough, but 
delivers it cut into the required shapes, and in sheets 
for the oven. The ovens themselves are made auto- 
matic, so as to bake and deliver the finished work con- 
tinuously. So we shall not enlarge greatly on this 
portion of the business; but we will give some of the 
principal recipes for the mixing, merely giving the old 
adage of the cracker baker — a batch well mixed is half 
braked, meaning, of course, that work well done at one 
stage of the proceedings makes the next stage easier. 

Hard Tack. — Army bread, or ship bread, as fur- 
nished to crews. One barrel of flour, 25 gallons of 
water (more or less; enough is wanted to make a stiff 
dough, no more). Cut out oblong, about 3 by 2^ 
inches square, for army use, as they pack more closely 
in the boxes in which they are sold. For sea use they' 
are generally cut out round. They are docked one 
side, baked in slackish oven, to dry out thoroughly, and 
by some bakers kept in a drjnng room 24 hours after 
baking. If properly kept, they will remain good a 
long time, and have no bad flavor even after the weevil 
gets in. 

Sea Biscuit, Captain's Biscuit, or Pilot Bread 
(Best). — One barrel of flour, 50 pounds of butter 
(salted but not rank), or half butter and half good lard, 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 651 

7 gallons of water or milk, or half of each. Rub the 
butter in the flour until it is mixed and crumbly ; 
make a bay; pour in the milk, or water; mix to a 
dough. Brake well ; roll thin ; dock them on one 
side, and bake in a quick oven. These are known in 
some quarters as captain's biscuits, as they were in- 
tended for cabin use. A variation of this biscuit is, 
to mix with it sugar, 12 pounds to the barrel. If 
half lard is used, put in 1 pound of salt ; if all lard, 2 
pounds of salt. 

Sea Biscuit (No. 2). — Same as the last, omitting 
milk and using half the proportion of butter or lard. 
Roll out thicker, about 3 to 3^ inches in diameter. 

Sea Biscuit (No. 3). — The same, with only 7 
pounds of lard, 2 pounds of salt. 

Passovek (Unleavened) Bkead. — One barrel of 
flour, 50 pounds of beef suet, 7 gallons of water. In 
some cases twenty-five pounds of beef marrow and an 
equal quantity of suet is used instead of all suet. The 
latter is freed of skin, chopped and mashed in a large 
mortar or other convenient receptacle. It is then 
used like the butter in the foregoing recipe. The suet 
and marrow must be of "Koscher" beef, that is beef 
approved by the Hebrew authorities, which always has 
a stamped tag of thin sheet lead, to indicate the appro- 
val. Weigh the dough into pieces of about three 
ounces each ; " drive " them out very thin into biscuits 
of about ten inches in diameter, with a polished iron 
rolling pin, and dock them, and bake in a very quick 
oven. They come out very crisp, and hold their crisp- 
ness a long time if properly stored. 

Abernethy Biscuits. — This is said to be an un- 
leavened biscuit, invented by Dr. Abernethy for the 
use of dyspeptic patients. Fourteen pounds of flour, 
1 pound of sugar, 1 pound of butter, 1 pound of eggs, 
1 ounce of caraway seeds, 3 quarts of milk (more or 
less, as needed). Mix butter and sugar ; add the flour, 
then the milk, and Anally add seeds. Brake or knead 
as sea biscuit. Take up about 2 pounds of the dough 



652 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

at each time, give it another braking, roll out, and cut 
into biscuits weighing from 1^ to 2 ounces. Dock on 
one face, and bake in a more moderate heat than for 
pilot bread. They can be baked after the pilot bread 
comes out of the oven. 



LEAYENED CEACE:EES. 

Soda Crackers. — In making soda crackers the ob- 
ject is to get the fermentation to such an advanced 
stage that the necessary soda put in to sweeten it will 
also be sufficient to make the cracker flak)^ or short. 
One barrel flour, 2 gallons ferment as for bread, 30 
pounds salt butter (not rank) or same quantity of good 
lard ; if lard, use 3 pounds of salt. Set a sponge with 
the ferment and ten quarts of water ; let it stand until 
the sponge drops. Mix in the rest of tlie flour, except 
a few pounds for flnal operations, with about five gal- 
lons of water, having the salt dissolved in it, if any is 
used, and let the dough stand until sour. Now, with 
from one pound and a half to two pounds of bicarbo- 
nate soda dissolved in water, sweeten the dough ; mix 
thoroughly, and add what flour is left to stiffen the 
dough ; brake well, and cut into shape, and bake in a 
quick oven. 

Boston Crackers. — The same as soda, except that 
less shortening is used. The Boston is made round 
and nearly twice the thickness of the soda ; is docked 
on one side, so as to make it split easily. 

It is usual with soda and Boston crackers, to try the 
dough, after adding a portion of the soda, by baking a 
small piece, the object being to avoid the j'^ellow ap- 
pearance and soapy taste which an excess of soda 
gives. 

Milk Biscuit. — Like soda; differ in shape only, 
being round. 

English Soda, — One barrel of flour, 20 pounds of 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 653 

lard, buttermilk sufficient to make a stiff dongh, luilt' 
pound of soda, dissolved in the buttermilk, 2 pounds 
of salt. 

English Soda (No. 2). — One barrel of flour, 18 
pounds of butter, haif-pound bicarbonate ot soda, 5 
ounces muriatic acid, watei- or milk sufficient to make 
a stiff dough, saj about 28 quarts. Add the acid, dis- 
solved in a pint of water, after the dough is nearly 
made, pouring it over. Brake well, cut out square, 
and bake in a quick oven. 

Butter Crackers. — One barrel of flour, 15 pounds 
of salt butter, 10 pounds of sweet lard, 2 pounds of 
salt, half pound of carb. ammonia, water sufficient, say 
25 quarts. Dissolve the ammonia in about a quart of 
the water previous to mixing. 

Lemon Crackers (Boston Lemon). — One barrel 
of flour, 37|- pounds of sugar, 25 quarts of water, 20 
pounds of butter, 4 ounces essence of lemon, 18 ounces 
carb. ammonia dissolved in one quart of water. Make 
up as dry as possible, cut out, and bake in lively heat. 

Oyster Crackers (No. 1.). — Oyster crackers may 
be made the same as soda. Cut with cutter, giving a 
small, rounded cracker. 

Oyster Crackers (No. 2). — One barrel of flour, 20 
pounds of salt butter, 8 ounces carb. ammonia dis- 
solved in one quart of water, 25 quarts of water, more 
or less, to make tight dough, 1 pound of salt. Lard 
may be used instead of butter, in which case double 
the quantity of salt. The butter may be increased ac- 
cording to wish. Diminish the salt one ounce for every 
additional pound of butter used. 

Lunch Biscuit. — One barrel of flour, 12 pounds of 
butter, 12 pounds of lard, 4|- pounds of granulated 
sugar, 14 quarts of milk and 14 quarts of water (more 
or less of each, to make pretty stiff dough), 7 ounces 
carbonate of soda, 5^ ounces muriatic acid. Bake in 
moderately quick oven, about twenty minutes, until 
yellowish brown. They should be about three six- 
teenths of an inch thick before baking. They may be 



654 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

cut to any shape and called by any name which hap- 
pens to be popular. This is the English way. The 
American metliod is much the same, only putting 
four ounces of cream tartar instead of the muriatic 
acid. 

Wine Biscuit. — The same as the preceding, only 
increasing the sugar. Make the sugar the same in 
quantity as the shortening. 

Pic-Nics (No. 1). — One barrel of flour, 24: pounds of 
sugar, 24 pounds of butter, 24 quarts of milk (about), 
20 ounces of carbonate of soda, 13 ounces of muriatic 
acid. 

Pic-Nics (No. 2). — Same as No. 1 . Substitute seven 
ounces cr. tartar for the muriatic acid. 

Pic-Nics (No. 3). — One barrel of flour, 28 pounds of 
sugar, 10|- pounds of butter, 10|- pounds of lard, 4 
pounds arrow root or farina, 14 ounces carbonate of 
soda, 14 quarts of buttermilk and 14 quarts of water 
(more or less of each, to make a moderately stiff 
dough). The butter or lard should be rubbed into 
the flour, the sugar dissolved in some of the w^ater 
added, then the soda dissolved in some of the water, 
then mix again. Make a crumbly dough ; brake, 
and roll out about one-eighth of an inch thick. Cut 
to shape, and bake light brown. Dry these after 
baking. 

Egg Crackers (Cracknells), No. 1. — One barrel of 
flour, 16 pounds of granulated sugar, 12 pounds of 
butter, 3 gallons of eggs (broken), 6 quarts of milk, 
12 ounces carb. ammonia. 

(No. 2.) — One barrel of flour, 21 pounds of sjranu- 
lated sugar, 21 pounds of eggs, 7 gallons of eggs (bro- 
ken), 7 quarts of milk, 14 ounces carb. ammonia. 

(No. 3.) — One barrel of flour, 12 pounds of butter, 
20 pounds of granulated sugar, 8 gallons of eggs (bro- 
ken), 8 ounces of ammonia dissolved in 2 gallons of 
water. Rub the butter into the flour; make a bay; 
pour in the sugar, eggs, and milk, or water, if any, 
previously well beaten. The milk, or water j should 



TH : HOME MECHANIC. 655 

contain the ammonia dissolved in it. Make the whole 
into a dough, moderately tight. If too much so, the 
crackers will not curl or spring at the edges, which is 
considered one of the distinguishing features of this 
biscuit. Brake it well ; let the dough be worked out 
very smooth; roll out about a quarter of an inch 
thick ; dock over the surface, so that each biscuit will 
have five or six holes. Put them into wire trays, and 
as rapidly as the trays are filled, dip them into boiling 
water, face upward, one full minute. Take them and 
put them into cold water for two hours. Take them 
out and put upon sieves to drain, bottom upward. 
Bake in a moderate oven, leaving the oven door open 
about five minutes, wliich assists in making the edges 
curl up. Experience is required with these perhaps 
more than with anv others. If not baked enough, 
they wrinkle on the surface ; if too much, they lose 
their character as cracknells. Put in the drying room 
after bakincr. 

Albert Biscuit. — One barrel of flour, 40 pounds of 
sugar, 20 pounds of butter, 15 pounds of sweet lard, 
1|- pounds of corn starch, 1^ pounds of salt, 6 ounces 
of baking powder (or 4 ounces cream tartar and 2 
ounces of soda), 25 quarts of milk (more or less). 
Moderately tight dough ; brake out fine ; roll thin, and 
bake in a lively oven to a light brown. 

Fruit Biscuit. — One barrel of flour, 10 pounds of 
butter, 20 pounds of lard, 20 pounds of sugar, 25 
quarts of water (more or lesa^, 16 ounces carb. ammo- 
nia, 50 pounds of currants, picked and clean. Make 
the cracker first, all to baking; brake out thin, about 
an eighth of an inch. Pour a little hot water into the 
currants, to make them adhere, and spread on the 
sheet of dough. Put another sheet of dough on top, 
and run through the cutting machine the proper 
size. 



656 THE HOIUS MECHANIC. 

ENGLISH BISCUITS MADE WITH YEAST. 

Butter Biscuits. — Six pounds of flour, f or 1 pound 
of butter, a quart of warm water, from ^ to 1 ounce of 
German yeast, or a teacupful of brewer's yeast. 

Rub the butter in with the flour, make a bay, pour 
in the water, and add the yeast, of which if it is 
brewer's yeast, and I do not know the quality of it, 
I usually add as much as will give tiie water a slight 
taste, so as to avoid their being bitter ; but small beer 
3^east, or that which is the least bitter, should always 
be preferred. Mix the whole into dough, brake it a 
little, wrap it in a clotli or flannel, and set it in a 
warm place to prove. When it is light enough, brake 
it until it is quite smooth and clear, and if it is not 
tight enough add sufficient flour to make it so ; roll it 
out into a sheet about an eighth of an inch in thick- 
ness, and cut out the biscuits with tlie docker.* 
Others cut the dough into strips and roll these out 
with the hand into a roll, when they cut it into pieces, 
which are flattened with the hand ; each biscuit is then 
rolled and cut out separately, working in the cuttings 
each time with a fresh parcel of dough ; as soon as the 
biscuits are cut out, bake them in a hot oven. A few 
persons make these without yeast, as a hard biscuit, 
using the same proportions for them, and the oven 
need not then be quite so warm. They are not usually 
dried after they are baked. These biscuits may also 
be made with soda and acid as directed for luncheon 
biscuits, and 2 lbs. of butter used when required very 



good. 



Olivek Biscuits. — Pour to 5 lbs. of flour, ^ lb. of 



*It may either be termed a docker or cutter, for properly it 
is both, being a piece of wood in the shape of other dockers hav- 
ing an iron rim or ring three inches and a half in diameter, with 
stout wires fixed in the wood, the same as for a captains' biscuit 
docker, but the points are not sharpened, and are level with the 
surface of the iron rim or rins:. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 667 

butter, 1|- pints of milk, and a little 3'eastj or about 1 
oz. of German yeast. 

Take one half of the milk ; make it warm ; add the 
3^east, with about a pound of the flour, so as to make a 
sponge, and put it in a warm place ; when it has risen 
and fallen, rub the butter into the flour, add the re- 
maining portion of the milk, warmed as before, which 
mix with the sponge, and make the whole into a dough ; 
let it prove; roll it into thin sheets, and cut the bis- 
cuits out with a plain round cutter, nearly the same 
size as for butter biscuits, dock them or face them, and 
put several together in a heap, prick them with a fork 
or piece of wire over each surface — that is, first on the 
top, then turn them over and prick the opposite side, 
separate them, and place them in rows on dry tins ; 
bake them in rather a slow oven. At some places in 
the west of England they are put on tins slightly but- 
tered, the tops washed over with milk, when they are 
proved before being baked. These are the original 
Oliver or Bath Oliver Biscuits. 

Another. — Four quarts of warm milk, to which add 
|- of a pint of well-washed brewer's yeast, and make 
into a sponge with flour. When the sponge is ready, 
pour in 2 lbs. of melted butter; mix well and make 
into a dough of moderate consistence with more flour. 
Let the dough prove a little, and then roll it out into 
thin sheets, cut the biscuits out with a plain round cut- 
ter ; dock them with an old butter docker with the rim 
off". Face them, and put them in piles to prove a lit- 
tle ; then separate them, put them on clean dry tins, 
wash the tops with milk, and bake in a cold oven. 

Another. — Two lbs. of flour, 8 oz. of butter, 3 eggs, 
1 drachm of carbonate of soda, and sufficient milk to 
make a dough of the consistence of the last. 

Reading Biscuits. — ^These are a sprig or shoot from 
the last, and the method of making them has been 
considered by a few to be a very great secret. The 
preparations for them are, \ lb. of butter, 1 quart of 
warm water, a little yeast, with flour sufficient to make 



638 The home mechanic. 

the whole into a dough ; make them as directed for 
Olivers, rolling them very thin, and using rather a 
smaller cutter. They are usually sold in boxes, and 
are much in request as a wine biscuit. 

Cayenne Biscuit. — These are the same as the former, 
with the addition of cayenne pepper; the way in 
which it is added is very bad, as it gives some biscuits 
a greater portion than others, which cannot be avoided 
when the powder is mixed with the dough or flour. 
To obviate this use an infusion of cayenne in spirits of 
wine, which add to the water or milk, when they may 
be flavored equally, to any height required. Take the 
following proportions for it : 1 oz. of cayenne pepper, 
or capsicum berries, (or, if required very strong, 2 oz 
should be used), which steep for fourteen days in one 
pint of spirts of wine or good gin ; put the whole into 
a bottle, and cork it close ; use the clear liquor — a few 
drops will suffice. 

These are sold in boxes, as the others, and are prin- 
cipally eaten with wine, after dinner, as a stimulant to 
excess. 

Norwich Biscuits. — Six lbs. of flour, 8 or 12 oz. of 
butter, 1 quart of milk, with yeast. Some add 2 or 3 
ounces of sugar, which may be omitted, as it is not 
necessary, neither is it in accordance with those bis- 
cuits made at the place from whence they take their 
name. 

Prepare these as before directed for Olivers, and let 
the dough be of a moderately good consistence, nearly 
the same as for butter biscuits. When the dough is 
sufficiently proved, brake 18 or 20 biscuits out of a 
pound of dough, mould them into a round ball under 
your hands as you would rolls ; place them on tins, 
slightly buttered, from 2 to 3 inches asunder; flatten 
them a little, and dock them in the center with a 
docker, the same as used for royal or cheese biscuits ; 
prove them, and bake in rather a cool oven so as to 
admit of their being baked through, that they may eat 
short and crisp ; if they should not be sufficiently 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 659 

dried when taken out, finish drying them in the stove. 
At Norwich they are baked on the bottom of the oven. 

These are a sort of biscuit which is made in many 
provincial towns in other forms, and under different 
names. At Exeter and tlie neighboring places, a sim- 
ilar preparation (viz., from 6 to 8 oz. of butter mixed 
with a quartern of bread dough, and made of a moderate 
consistence with flour) is cut into Fingers and Half- 
moons, Fancy biscuits and Tea biscuits. The dough is 
rolled into a sheet about one-half an inch in thickness, 
and the fingers are cut out with a cutter about four in- 
ches long by three wide, which is divided into three 
parts, with two divisions lengthways, so that each bis- 
cuit is about an inch wide ; the half-moons from a cir- 
cular cutter, divided in two ; and the tea biscuits are 
cut out into small hearts, diamonds, fingers, half- 
moons, and other devices ; these last are usually made 
richer than the others ; they are all placed on tins so 
as not to touch each other, proved and baked as Nor- 
wich biscuits, without being docked. 

The same preparation is also made and sold as milk 
biscuits for children and infants' food, with a medical 
gentleman's name attached ; these have a less portion 
of butter, although they are advertised as being made 
without it; but I never knew an instance in which 
they were so made. 

Cheltenham Biscuits. — These are the same as the 
last, with the addition of 6 or 8 oz. of loaf sugar to the 
quart of milk. Make them as Norwich biscuits, but 
roll them flatter, or so as they will be about one-halt 
an inch in thickness, dock them in the center with 
rather a larger docker, place them on tins slightly but- 
tered, prove, bake, and dry them well. A similar bis- 
cuit to these has recently been made under the title of 
the Queen's Nursery biscuit ; or the following prepa- 
ration may be used: 

Nursery Biscuits. — One quart of milk, from 4 to 6 
oz. of butter, 2 oz. of sugar, about 5 lbs, of flour, and 
sufficient yeast to work it. 



660 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Take half or three parts of the milk, warm it, and 
set a sponge with patent or brewer's yeast, and some of 
the flour. When the sponge is ready add to it therestof 
the milk, warmed as before. Rub the butter in with 
the remainder of the flour, and make the whole into a 
dough of moderately good consistence, rather more so 
than bun dough. Set it aside in a warm place to 
prove, and make into cakes as directed for Korwich 
biscuits, only a little larger. Prove them well, and 
bake in a slow oven, of a delicately pale brown, and 
dry them in the stove when baked. 

They may be made into cakes as follows, instead of 
the preceding. Koll the dough into sheets from a 
quarter to half an inch in thickness, and cut it into 
cakes with a plain round cutter about three inches in 
diameter; dock them in the center and finish as be- 
fore. 

Half an ounce of soda may be added to each quart 
of milk in the sponge. This addition may suit some 
infants by correcting acidity of the stomach, and be 
an improvement to the biscuits w^hen patent yeast is 
used. 

Waterloo Biscuits. — To 4|- lbs. of bread dough add 
6 oz. of butter melted, 8 oz. of sugar, 2 oz. of caraway 
seeds, and ^ oz. of pure volatile salt finely pounded. 
Mix well, using flour to dust it with in the working ; 
let it prove, and proceed as for the last. This makes 
an excellent biscuit for infants' food. 



SOFT BISCUITS. 

KouT Biscuits. — Three lbs. of flour, 6 oz. of butter, 
1^ lb. of loaf sugar in powder, i pint of milk, I oz. 
of volatile salts pounded fine, and a little essence of 
lemon. 

Put the sugar and volatile salts in the milk, and let 
them stand for an hour or two, stirring occasionally. 



' THE HOME MECHANIC. 661, 

YOCABULARY OF TERMS m BAKING. 

Bay Board. — The board to divide the trough. 
Bin. — A large chest in which to mix the flour. 
Brake — To knead (a term in cracker baking). 
CoLLANDER. — A tin vesscl with a perforated bot- 
tom, used to strain the ferment, &c. 

Dough. — The manipulation next after the sponge. 

Ferment. — The first stage in making bread. A 
preparation of yeast, potatoes and flour. 

Grisini. — Italian bread. 

Grease Brush. — A brush used to spread lard on 
the surface of tins ; also used to cover the 
surfaces of French bread before "proving" 
them. 

Mash Tub. — The tub in which the ferment is 

worked. 
Oven. — A brick chamber heated, in which the 

bread is baked. 

Peel. — A piece of thin board, to which is attached 
a handle long enough to reach to the back 
of the oven. 

Proving. — To increase tlie volume. 

Pin {rolling). — Used to cut through French bread. 

Swab. — A piece of sacking slung to a stout pole 
with which to clean the oven bottom. 

Sponge. — The second stage in the preparation of 
bread, consisting of the strained ferment, 
more water, and sufficient flour to make it 
into fair consistency. 

Trough. — A wooden tub in which the sponge and 
dough are mixed. 

1 EAST. — A ferment action of hops, flour and sugar, 
seasoned with salt and worked with the ad- 
dition of yeast of a previous baking. 



663 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Another Method. — One lb. of sugar, a teacupful of 
milk or water, 4 oz, of butter, \ oz. of volatile salts. 

Put the sugar and milk in a clean saucepan over the 
fire, let them boil up ; see if all the sugar is dissolved ; 
if not, give it another boil or two, and set it aside to 
cool ; it will be ready for use when cold. 

Hub the butter in with the flour, make a bay, pour 
in the sugar, and make the whole into a dough of a 
moderate stiffness. In the last recipe, the volatile 
salts should be pounded and mixed with the sugar 
after it is boiled, and suflicient flour should be used to 
make a dough of a good consistence, keeping it in a 
loose state until it is nearly of the size or consistence 
required ; then work it together. Take a part of the 
dough, mould it in a square piece, and lay it over the 
impressions or figures carved in a block of wood, and 
press it in ; keep your hand firm on it, that it may re- 
tain its place ; have a thin knife, which is made for 
this purpose, called a toy knife, rub it over a damp 
cloth, or pass it through flour; lay it flat on the block, 
and cut off the superfluous dough ; take the biscuits 
out and place them on tins slightly buttered, so as not 
to touch each other; wash them over lightly with 
milk, and bake them in a very hot oven. The last 
mixture is the best for persons who are not very expert 
in the cutting. The dough is apt to get tough if 
worked or moulded too much, when made according 
to tlie first recipe, an error which inexperienced per- 
sons are very liable to commit. 

In cutting the biscuits observe that the pressure of 
the liand on the dough must be equal on every part of 
the impressions or figures carved in the wood, or the 
biscuits will not be of an equal thickness. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. ^^S 



TAXIDERMY. 



PART FIRST. ; 

Of Slcinning, Preparing and Mounting tlie Mammalia, or 

Quadrupeds. 



OF SKINNING. 

"TTTHEN a quadruped is killed, and its skin intended for 
YV stuffing, the preparatory steps are to lay the animal on 
its back, and plug up its nostrils, mouth, and any wounds it 
may have received, with cotton or tow, to prevent the blood 
from disfiguring the skin. A longitudinal incision is then 
made in the lower part of the belly, in front of the pubis, and 
extended from thence to the stomach, or higher if necessary, 
keeping in as straight a line as possible, and taking care not 
to penetrate so deep as to cut into the abdominal muscles. In 
some instances, the incision is made as high as the collar 
bone. In this operation the liairs must be carefully separated 
to the right and left, and none of them cut, if possible. The 
skin is also turned back to the right and left, putting pads 
of cotton or tow between it and the muscles, as the skinning 
is proceeded with. If any fatty or oily substance should be 
noticed, it must be carefully wiped away. The skin being 
removed as far in every direction as the extent of the incision 
wiQ admit of, each of the thighs must be separated at its 
junction with the pelvis, that is, by the head or ball of the 
Os femoris,* or thigh bone. The intestinal canal is then cut 
across, a little way above the anus, and then the tail is separ- 
ated, as close to the animal as possible. After this the pelvis 
is pulled out of the skin, and the sldn separated from the 
back by inserting the handle of the scalpel cutting knife between 
't and the carcase. It is pulled gradually upward until the 
operator reaches the shoulders. The whole hinder parts and 
trunk of the body being thus out of the skin, the next opera- 
tion is to remove the fore-legs, by separating them from the 
body at the shoulder-joint, or the base of the Os humeri. When 
the joint of one shoulder has been separated from the body, 
the leg is again put into the skin, and the animal then turned 

* Those who are unacquainted with the names of the different bones of the 
skeleton, will find a full detail of those of both quadrupeds and birds, in our 
description of fig 1. [See pages 8 and 9.] 



664 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



in order to repeat the same with the other side, the limb of 
which is also returned. The skin is then removed from the 
neck. The next thing is to separate the skin from the head 
by the assistance of the scalpel. It is taken off as far as the 
point of the r.ose ; while gi-eat care must be taken not to injure 
the eyelids, and to cut the ears as close to the skull as pos- 
sible ; and also to avoid cutting the lips too close. 

All this having been performed, the head and trunk of the 
animal are completely separated from the skin. The next 
operation is to remove the head of the animal from the trunk, 
at the upper bone of the vertebrae. The external muscles of 
the head and face are then carefully cut off with a scalpel, and 
the bones left as free from flesh as pcssible. The occipital 
bones are next enlarged by means of a strong knife, or other 
instrument ; and the brain all carefully removed. The fore 
legs are now pulled out of the skin, by" drawing the legs one 
way and the skin another, as far as the claws of the foot. All 
the muscles are then cut off the bones, while care is taken not 
to injure the ligaments and tendons. They should be left 
adhering to the knee. They are then returned into the sldn 
again. The hind legs are treated in the same manner. The 
tail is the last part which is skinned, and this is a more difficult 
task than the other parts of the body. Two or three of the 




Fig. 1. — Skeleton of the Horse, 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 665 

first joints or vertebrae are first laid bare by pulling the skin 
back ; they are then tied firmly with a strong cord, wliich must 
be attached to a strong nail or hook on the wall. A cleft stick 
is introduced between the vertebrae and the skin, the stick is 
then forced to the extremity, and the. tail bones come out of 
their enveloping skin or sheath. 

The skeleton head, having been divested of all its fleshy 
matter, tongue, palate, external muscle and brain is now 
returned to its place in the skin, which is in a condition for 
commencing the oj^eration of stuffing. 

OF STUFFING QUADEUPEDS, &c. 

Let us suppose the animal which we intend to stufi" to be a 
cat. Wire of such a thickness is chosen as will support the 
animal by being introduced under the soles of the feefc, and 
running it through each of the four legs. A piece of sm.'i.ller 
dimensions is then taken, measuring about two feet, for the 
purpose of forming, what is termed by stuffers, a tail bearer. 
This piece of wire is bent at nearly a third of its length, into 
an oval of about six inches in length ; the two ends are twisted 
together, so as to leave one of them somewhat longer than 
the other ; the tail is then correctly measured, and the wire is 
cut to the length of it, besides the oval. The wire is then 
wrapped round with flax in a spiral form, which must be 
increased in tliickness as it approaches the oval, so as to be 
nearly equal to the dimensions of the largest vertebrae, or root 
of the tail. The thickness can be very nearly imitated from 

Explanation of Fig. 1. — A, the head; a, the Po-terior Maxillarj' or jaw 
bone; b, the Superior Maxillary, or tapper jaw; c, the orbit of tlie eye; d. the 
nasal bones, or bones of the nose ; e the Suture, dividing' the parietal bones below 
from the occipital bones ajsove ; f, the Inferior Maxillary bone, c«mtaining the 
upper incisors, or cutting teeth ; B. the seven Cervical Vertebrae, or bones of the 
neck ; C, the eighteen Dorsal Vertebrae, or bones of the back ; D, the six 
Lumbar Vertebrae, or bones of the loins; E the five Sacral Vertebrae, or bones of 
the haunch ; F, the Caudal Vertebrae, or bones of the tail, the usual number being 
fifteen ; sometimes, however, they vary ; G, the Scapula, or shoulder blade ; 
H, the Sternum, fore part of the chest or breast-bone ; I, the Costae, or ribs, 
seven or eight of which articulating with the Sternum, are called the trne ribs, and 
the remaining tern, or eleven, which are united together by cartilage, are culled the 
false ribs; J, the Humerus, or bone of the arm; K. the Itadins, or bone of the 
forearm; L, the Ulna, or elbow; with its process, the Olecranon; M, M. the 
Carpus, or knee, consisting of seven bones; N, N, the Metacarpal, or shank 
bones. The large Metacarpal, or cannon, or shank in front; and the smaller 
Metacarpal, or splent bone behind ; g, the fore pastern and foot, consisting of the 
Os Suflfraginis, or the upper and longer pastern bone, with the sesamoid bones 
behind, articulating with the cannon and greater pastern : the Os Coronae, or lesser 
pastern; the Os Pedis, or coffin bone; and the Os Naviculae. or navicular shuttle 
bone, not seen, and articulating with the smaller j^astern and coffin bones ; h, the 
corresponding bones of the bind feet ; O, O, the small Metacarpal, or sjilent 
bones; P, The Pelvis, or haunch, consisting of three portions, — the Ilium, the 
Ischiun:!. and the Pubis ; Q. the Os Femoris. orthigh-bone ; R, R, ihe I'atella placed 
on the stifle joint; S S, the Tibia and Fibula; the latter is a small bone 1 ehind. 
These are also called the ham bones; T, V. the bones of the Taisns. or hock, six 
in number; U, U, the Metatarsals of the hind leg, called shank, or cannon bones 
W, W, the Os Calcis, or point of the hock ; X, X, X, X, the Sesamoid, jr fetlock 
bones. 



666 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



measuring the bones of the tail which have just been removed 
and for this purpose a pair of calipers should be used. When 
finished it should be rubbed thinly over with flour paste, to 
preserve its smooth form, which must be allowed to dry 
thoroughly, and then the surface should receive a coating of 
the preservative. The sheath of the tail must now be rubbed 
inside with the preservative. This is applied with a small 
quantity of lint, attached to the end of a wire, long enough 
to reach the point of the tail sheath. The tai^ bearer is then 
inserted into the sheath, and the oval part of the wire placed 
within the skin of the beUy, and attached to the longitudinal 
wire, which is substituted for the vertebrae or back bone. 

Four pieces of wire, about the thickness of a crow quill, are 
then taken, which must be the length of the legs, and another 
piece a foot or fifteen inches longer than the body. One end 
of each of these is sharpened with a file in a triangular shape, 
so that it may the more easily penetrate the parts. At the 
blunt end of the longest piece a ring is formed, large enough 
to admit oi the point of a finger entering it ; this is done by 
bending the wire back on itself a turn and a half, by the assis- 
tance of the round pincers. On the same wire another ring 
is formed in a similar manner, consisting of one entire turn, 
and so situated as to reach just between the animal's shoulders. 
The measurement should be carefully made from the animal 
itself. The remaining part of this wire should be perfectly 
straight, and triangularly pointed at the extremity. 

Another method of forming the supporting wires, as prac- 
ticed by M. Nicholas, is to take a central wire, which must be 
the length of the head, neck, body and tail of the cat, as in 
fig. 2 ; that is, from a to b, ; two other pieces are then 
taken and twisted round the center piece in the manner repre- 
sented in fig. 2, c, d, e, f; these extremities being left for 




Mg. 2.^— The Wires Prepared for Insertion. 



THB BOME MECHANIC. 



667 



the leg wires. After the wires are thus twisted together, the 
central one is pulled out ; and the feet wires of one side are 
pushed through the legs of one side from the inside of the 
skin, and the other two leg pieces are bent and also forced 
through the legs, and afterward made straight by a pair of 
pincers ; the center piece, having been previously sharpened 
at one end with a file, is now forced through the forehead and 
down the neck till it enters the center of the twisted leg wires 
which it formerly occupied, and pushed forward to the ex- 
tremity of the tail, leaving a small piece projecting out of the 
forehead, as represented in the cat, fig. 3. After which the 
completion of the stuffing is proceeded with. 

We think this mode unnecessary for the smaller animals, 
and that it should only be adopted for quadrupeds the size of 
deer, &c. These wires are besides much more difficult to in- 
sert by this than by the other method. 

All the wires being adjusted, the operation of stuffing is 
next proceeded with. The skin of the cat is now extended on 
a table, and the end of the nose seized with the left hand, 




Fig. 3.— The Jfircs Imterted in the Cat. 



668 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

and pushed again into the skin, till it reaches the neck, when 
we receive the bones of the head into the right hand. The 
skull is now well rubbed over with the arsenical soap, and all 
the cavities which the muscles before occupied are filled with 
chopped tow, flax or cotton, well mixed with preserving 
powder. The long piece of wire is now passed into the middle 
of the skull, and after it is well rubbed over with the preserv- 
a ive, it is returned into the skin. The inner surface of the 
neck skin is now anointed, and stuffed with chopped flax, 
< aking care not to distend it too much. Nothing like pressure 
should be appKed, as the fresh skin is susceptible of much 
expansion. 

Observe that it is always the inner surface which is anointed 
with the arsenical soap. 

Take care taht the first ring of the wire, which passes into 
the head, is in the direction of the shoulders, and the second 
corresponding with the pelvis, or somewhat toward the pos- 
terior part. One of the fore-leg wires is then inserted along 
the back of the bone ; and the point passed out under the 
highest ball of the paw. When this is accomplished, the 
bones of the leg are drawn up within the skin of the body, 
and the wire fastened to the bones of the arm and fore-ann 
with strong thread or small twine. Brass wire, used for piano- 
forte strings, makes it more secure, and is not liable to rot. 
These are well anointed, and flax or tow shvers wrapped round 
them, so as to supply the place of the muscles which have 
been removed. The common stuffing employed by the French 
taxidermists, at the Jardin des Plantes, is chopped flax ; but 
it must be quite evident that for such parts as the legs of 
animals or birds, that flax or tow slivers are far preferable ; 
and can be wound on with more nicety. Whereas, chop- 
ped flax or tow is apt to make inequalities. To give the 
natural rise to the larger muscles, a piece of sliver should be 
cut of the length of the protuberance required, and placed in 
the part, and the sliver wrapped over it. This gives it a very 
natural appearance. 

The mode of fixing the legs, is by passing one of their 
pie. es of wire into the small ring of the horizontal or middle 
supporting wire. Pursue the same plan with the other leg, 
and then twist the two ends firmly together, by the aid of a 
pair of flat i^incers. For an animal of the size of a cat, the 
pieces left for twisting must be from five to six inches in length. 
A.iter being twisted, they are bound on the under side of the 
body wire, with strong thread ; the two legs are then replaced 
and put in the form in which we intend to fix them. The skin 
of the belly a d top of the shoulders is then anointed ; and s 
•thick layer of flax placed under the middle wire. The snapo 
is now given to the scapuhe on both sides, and all the musclea 
of the shoulders imitated- These will be elevated or de- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 669 

pressed, according to the action intended to be expressed. 
The anterior part of the opening is now sewed up, to retain the 
stuffing, and to enable us to complete the formation of the 
shoulders and junction of the neck. This part of the animal 
is of great importance, as regards the perfection of its form ; 
and much of its beauty wUl depend upon this being well 
executed. 

If the animal has been recently skinned, the best plan pos- 
sible is to imitate, as nearly as possible, the muscles of the 
carcass ; by which many parts will be noticed which might 
otherwise have been neglected. Even to the comparative ana- 
tomist, I address this recommendation : copy nature when- 
ever you have it in your power. 

It must be observed as a general rule, that the wires for the 
hind legs of quadrupeds should always be longer than those of 
the fore legs. 

The next thing is to form the hind legs and thighs, which 
must be done, as above described for the fore legs ; but with 
this difference, that they must be wound round ^vith thread, 
drawn through the stuffing at intervals, to prevent it slipping 
up when returned into the skin of the leg. They are then 
fixed by passing the leg- wires into the second ring of the center 
body-wire, which is situated at or near the pelvis ; the two 
ends are then bent, twisting them to the right and left around 
the ring ; and to make them still more secure, they should 
be wound round with small brass wire or packthread ; the tail- 
bearer is then attached in the manner formerly described. 

Having completed this part of the iron work, the skin of 
the thigh is coated inside with the preservative, and the stuff- 
ing completed with chopped flax or tow. The whole inner 
parts of the skin which can be reached are again anointed, 
and the body stuffing completed with chopped flax. Care 
must be also paid not to stuff the belly too much, as the skin 
very easUy dilates. The incision of the belly is now closed 
by bringing the skin together, and then sewed within and 
without ; while attention is paid to divide the hairs, and not 
to take any of them in along with the thread ; but should any 
of them be inadvertently fixed, they can be picked out easily 
with the point, fig. 20^ When this is completed, the hair 
will resume its natural order, and completely conceal the same. 

The seam should now be well primed on both sides with 
the solution of corrosive sublimate, to prevent the entrance 
of moths. 

The articulations of the legs are then bent, and the animal 
placed on its feet ; and pressure used at the natural flat places, 
8o as to make the other parts rise where the muscles are 
visible. 

I cannot take leave of this part without mentioning a plan 
which I invented, for givinar full effect to the muscles of the 



670 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Bhonlders. Having skinued a dog, Imiaediately on removing 
the carcass, I took a plastei-of-paris cast from each of the 
shonlderB ; and from these molds I cast a pair of shoulders. 
After having completed the internal stuffing, I applied these 
casts to the top of the tow, and on the skin being brought 
over them, they had the best effect imaginable ; and gave the 
complete appearance of the shoulder in the living animal. 
This method may be extended to the other visible muscles of 
the body with great effect ; and it is very easily and speedily 
accomplished. In short, every legitimate means of tlus kind 
should be thought of and adopted, at whatever expense and 
trouble it may be, to obtain the end in view ; namely, as close 
an imitation of the living subject as possible ; for one well 
mounted specimen is worth fifty indifferently executed. 

A board is now prepared, on which to place the cat. But 
before fixing it permanently, the animal should be set in the 
attitude in which it is intended to be preserved, and the 
operator having satisfied himself, then pierces four holes for 
the admission of the feet wires, which must be drawn through 
with a pair of pincers till the paws rest firmly on the board. 
Small grooves are then made for the reception of the pieces of 
wires which have been drawn through, so that they may be 
folded back and pressed down in them, and not be beyond the 
lev^l of the back of the board ; wire nails are now driven half 
in, and their heads bent down on the wires to prevent them 
from getting loose, or becoming movable. 

The stuffer next directs his attention to the position and 
final stuffing of the head and neck. The muscles of the face 
must be imitated as correctly as possible, by stuffing in cotton 
at the opening of the eyes, as also at the mouth, ears, and 
nostrils. To aid in this also, the inner materials may be 
drawn forward by the assistance of instruments, such as are 
represented in figs 19 and 20, and also small pieces of wood 
formed like small knitting meshes. 

Our next care is in the insertion of the eyes, which must be 
'done while the eyelids are yet fresh. Some dexterity and skill 
are required in this operation ; and on it will depend most of 
the beauty and character of the head. The seats of the eyes 
are supplied with a little cement, the eyes put in their place, 
and the eyelids properly drawn over the eyeballs ; but if rage 
or fear are to be expressed, a considerable portion of the eye- 
balls must be exposed. The Hps are afterward disposed in 
their natural state, and fastened with pins. If the mouth is 
intended to be open, it will be necessary to support the lips 
■with cotton, which can be removed when they are di-y. Two 
small balls of cotton, firmly pressed together, and well tinctured 
"with the arsenical soap, must be thrust into the nostrils, so as 
to completely plug them up, to prevent the air from penetrat- 
ing, as sJso the intrusion of moths ; and besides it has the 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 671 

eflPect of preserving the natural shape of the nose after it has 
dried. The same precaution should be adopted with the ears, 
which, in the cat, require but little attention in setting. 

We must again recommend the stuffer to see that he has 
sufficiently appUed the preservative soajD ; and the nose, lips, 
ears, and paws, being very liable to decay, must be well im- 
bued with spirits of turpentine. This is applied ^^dth a brush, 
and must be repeated six or eight times, at intervals of some 
days, until we are certain of the parts being well primed with , 
it ; and, after all, it will be advisable to give it a single coat- 
ing of the solution of corrosive sublimate. 

The methods of stuffing, which we have pointed out in the 
preceding pages, are applicable to all animals, from a lion 
down to the smallest mouse. Animals of a large description, 
require a frame-work suited to their dimensions ; these we 
will point out in their systematic order. There are also some 
animals, whose peculiarity of structure requires treatment 
differing a Httle from the ordinary course. 

APES AISD MONKEYS. 

One of the chief difficulties to contend T\4th, in setting up 
monkeys and apes, is the preservation of their hands, and 
hind hands, or what are commonly called their feet ; because 
we must not attempt to deprive these limbs of their flesh, as 
we never could again supj)ly its place, anything like what it 
is in nature. The hand must therefore be dried, and then well 
imbued with turpentine, and the solution of corrosive subh- 
mate, repeated eight or ten times at least, at intervals of four 
or five days. The other parts of the stuffing should be exactly 
similar to that recommended for quadi'upeds generally. The 
paws of several will require to be colored mth the different 
varnishes, and, when dry, slightly polished with fine sand 
paper to remove the gloss. The cahosities, on the hinder 
parts of many of them, will also require to be colored and 
treated in the same way as the face. 

BATS. * 

The wing membranes of this varied and numerous tribe do 
not require either wire or parchment to set them. They are 
very easily dried by distention. They are laid on a board of 
soft wood, the wings extended and pinned equally at the 
articulations, and when dry they are removed from the board. 

THE ELYING LEMUR 

Has a large flexible membrane, which envelopes the feet and 
extremities, and even the fingers and tail. This membrane 
should be laid open from mtbin, and the preservative plenti- 
fully supplied to it, and then dried. Wires axe afterward 



672 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

introduced to keep the different parts distended, but we have 
found that by introducing buckram or stiff parchment, they 
are much more natural and pliable. They are to be stuffed 
and nxounted as other quadrupeds. 

HEDGEHOGS. 

When it is wished to preserve hedgehog • rolled into a ball, 
which is a very common position with them in a state of nature, 
there should be much lass stuffing put into them than is usual 
with 'quadrupeds, so that they may the more easily bend. No 
wires i>.re required in this case. The head and feet are drawn 
close together under the belly ; then place the animal on its 
back in the middle of a large cloth, and tie the four ends 
firmly together ; suspend it in the air till thoroughly dry, 
which finiskes the operation. 

If hedgehogs are wished, with the head and limbs exposed, 
the usual method of mounting is adopted. The skins of mice, 
moles, &c., having a very offensive smell, it will be nacassary 
to add a considerable portion of the tinsture of musk, to the 
solution of the corrosive sublimate, with which the skins are 
imbued. The same applies to badgers, foxes, wolves, wolver- 
ines, polecats and skunks, all of which are strong smelling 
animals. 

BEAES. 

The structure of the wires requires to be different in these 
larger animals from any wa have before described. 

Procure a bar of wood one inch thick, two inches broad, and 
as long as to reach from the shoulders to the connection 
of the thighs, or Os pubis. A hole is bored four inches distant 
from one of its ends, from which a connectiug groove must be 
formed, extending on both sides to the end of the plank next 
the hole ; this groove must be cut out with a hollow chisel, 
deep enough to receive the wire. The wire is then passed 
through it, one end of which is just left long enoagh to be 
twisted with the other at the end of the plank. The wire on 
both sides is now pressed down into the groove, and twisted 
firmly together by the aid of a pair of strong pincers. Pierce 
some holes obHquely into the groove, and insert some vrire 
nails into them, which must be firmly driven home, and then 
bent over the wires to keep them firm. The longest end of 
the wire should be at least eighteen inches beyond the bar, 
so as to pass through the skull of the animal. 

The use of this bar, it will be observed, is as a substitute for 
the central or supporting wires of the body. Two other holes 
ore now bored into it, the one two, and the other three inches 
from the end which we first pierced ; these are for the recep- 
tion of the wires of the fore-legs, and two siiailar holes roust 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 673 

be made at the other extremity of the bar for receiving the 
wires of the hind legs. 

Bears always support themselves on the full expansion of 
their dilated paws, so that it is necessary to bring the leg wires 
out at the claws. The leg wii'es are bent at right angles, for 
a length of five inches from the upper end. These are put 
through the holes in the bar, and when they have passed 
through they are curved again. Two small gimlet holes are 
then made for the reception of smaller wire, by which the kg 
whes must be bound together close to the bar. The fore-leg 
wires are fixed in the same manner, which completes the 
framework. 

This seems to be the most simjole manner which could be 
devised, for obtaining the end in view, and is that practiced at 
the Laboratory of the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. No other 
means are used for middle sized animals, such as the lion, 
tiger, leopard, &c. The stuffing is completed as in other 
quadrupeds. 

The walrus, seals, and other amphibious animals of this 
order, are treated in the manner of quadrupeds generally, 
only that leg wires are unnecessary, except in the fore feet ; 
the tail, which represents the hind feet, has merely to be dried 
and kept properly stretched during this process, which pre- 
caution also applies to the fore foet. They are the easiest 
stuffed of all animals, only the skins are very oily, they should 
be well rubbed with the arsenical soap, and also with the pre- 
serving powder. 

The stuffing of the walrus, the sea elephant and other large 
animals of this family, should consist of well dried hay for 
the interior parts and tow for the surface next the skin. 

OPOSSUM, &o. 

The females of the kangaroo, opossum, &c., have abdominal 
pouches in which they carry their young, and others have 
membranes which project from their sides. In drying the 
pouches, they require to be well primed with the preservative, 
and attention must be paid to show them properly in the 
stuffed animal. The membranes should be kept out by buck- 
ram or strong parchment as before recommended in the flying 
lemur. 

BEAYER, &o. 

The beaver, muskrat, common rat and other animals whose 
skins have a strong smell, require to be plentifully supplied 
with the preservative. The tail of the beaver should be cut 
underneath, and aU the flesh removed, then stuffed with tow 
or chopped flax, and afterward thoroughly dried and well 
primed with the arsenical soap to prevent putrefaction, to 



674 THE home; mechanic. 

which it is very liable. It should also have repeated washings 
with oil of turpentine. The back should be round and short 

THE PORCUPINE. 

In stuffing this animal considerable and varied expression 
may be given, both from the attitude and disposition of the 
quills. Great attention is therefore required in giving these 
a proper set during the process of drying. They will require 
tc be looked at several times duiing the first and second day 
after they have been stuffed, and any of them that may have 
fallen out of position required to be adjusted. 

HARES AND RABBITS 

A very pretty attitude for the hare or rabbit is to have it 
seated in an upright position, as if alarmed at the noise of 
dogs, &c. An oval is formed of wire and attached to the in- 
terior frame work, after having passed one end of it through 
the anus, which must be passed through a hole in the board 
on which the animal is to be fixed. The wires of the hind 
legs must be forced through the posterior part of them, and 
also fixed into holes formed for their reception in the board. 

THE SLOTH. 

Must be mounted in an upright posture, as they are seldom 
or never to be seen walking horizontally, except in finding 
their way from one tree to another. The great length of their 
fur makes it a comparatively easy task to mount them. 

ARMADILOES 

Are also easily set up, owing to the bands preserving the 
ordinary shape of the animaL The French taxidermists do 
not use any of the preservative for the skin, but merely dry it. 
We are, however, of opinion, that they are wrong, as all sorts 
of hides are liable to the attacks of insects, unless preserved 
in some way. We would, therefore, recommend the use of 
arsenicaJ soap as in other skins. 

ANT-EATERS. 

The great ant-eater has a long prehensile tail, with long 
flowing hairs. The tail must be supported by a much longer 
tail-bearer than that of other quadrupeds generally. The 
tongue is very long and protractile, and ought to be drawn 
out of the mouth as if in the act of catching ants. 

THE ELEPHANT. 

Various methods have been devised for the mounting and 
ftui3ing of elephants. The best plan is that which was 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 675 

adopted, with the elegnnt specimen uow in the Jardin du Roi, 
at Paris. 

The dead elephant being extended on the giound, the di- 
mensions were all taken, and correctly noted at the time. M. 
Lassaigne, cabinet-maker to the establishment, invented a 
large rule for thp«t purpose, whicii was somewhat like a shoe- 
maker's size-stick. The different curves of the back, belly, 
neck, &c. , were taken by bars of lead of three-quarters of an 
inch in thickness. This metal is much better adapted than 
any other for that and similar purposes, as it has no elasticity, 
it retains any shape into which it is put. 

M. Demoulins made a drawing of the animal from these 
measurements, on the wall of a workshop where the model 
was constructed of its natural size. 

The elephant was placed upon its back by means of four- 
corded pulleys fastened to the platform. An incision, the 
form of a double cross, was then made in the lower side, the 
central line reaching from the mouth to the anus ; the two 
other euts were made from the left leg on both sides to the 
opposite right legs. The trunk was longitudinally oxDened in 
its under side ; the soles of the feet were now taken out to 
within an inch of their edge, and the nails allowed to remain 
attached to the skin — this was effected by the aid of chisel 
and mallet, and was one of the most difficult operations of the 
whole. 

Several persons worked at a time at the operation of skin- 
ning, and four days were necessary to effect it. When re- 
moved from the carcass, the skin was weighed, and found to 
he Jive hundred and seventy-six pounds. 

It was extended on the ground, so that, the cutaneous 
muscles of the head and other parts might be cut away from 
its interior. The skin was then put into a tub, and covered 
6ix inches deep with water which had been saturated with 
alum. 

The model which was to fill the skin was made as perfect 
as possible in its shape. To insure this, models were made 
of half the head in plaster, as also a fore and hind leg. This 
structure was made of linden-wood, and so ingeniously con- 
structed by M. Lassaigne, that almost the whole parts could be 
separated. He opened a pannel on one side of the body, 
whereby he introduced himself into its interior, so that he 
might make its parts more perfect within. Even the head and 
proboscis were hollow, which rendered this stupendous model 
so Hght that it could be moved from one part to another with 
comparative ease. 

The model being completed, the alum water in which the 
skin had been all the time immersed, was no?\' taken out and 
made boiling hot, and in that state poured on the skin, which 
was then allowed to soak in the warm Uquor for an hour and 



676 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

tt balf, when it was taken out still warm and placed upon the 
model, which they accomplished with some difficulty. But 
judge of their mortincation when it was found that the model 
was rather too la^-ge. To diminish, the wood-work they fore- 
saw would run the risk of putting its parts out of proportion. 
It then occurred to them, that the best thing to be done under 
these awkward circumstances, was to take off the skin again 
Rnd reduce its thickness with knives ; they removed all the 
i.otemal thicknings which came in their way. In this opera 
tion five men were occupied for four days, during which time 
they cut out one hundred and ninety-four pounds weight off 
the internal surface. During this process the skin had dried, 
and required again to be immer&ed in cold soft water ; after 
allowing it to remain twenty-four hours to soak, it was then 
put on the model and found now to cover it completely ; the 
edges were brought together, and secured with wire i^ails 
deeply driven home, and large brads. Except at the edges, 
the nails and brads were onlv driven in half way to keep the 
skin down to the different siiiuosities and hollows until dry, 
when they were again all pulled out. 

The alum with which the water was saturated gave the skin 
an ugly gxay appearance, in consequence of its becoming 
crystalized. But this was S( >on remedied, by first rubbing the 
skin with spirits of turpentide, and afterward with olive oil. 

By the admirable and well executed contrivance here 
adopted, a specimen has been mounted with all the appear- 
ance of life, which, with a little attention, may resist for ages 
the influence of time's destroying hand. It is the only speci- 
men of an elephant in Europe worth looking at, all others 
being gTeat misshapen masses, completely devoid of all ap- 
pearance of nature. 

The rhinoceros, tapir, horse, and its congeners, should all 
be mounted in the same manner. At the Jardin du Koi, a 
fine specimen of the quagga has been mounted in this way. 
At the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, the giraffe is mounted in 
the same way as the elephant ; as are also some of the larger 
antelopes. 

DEEK, ANTELOPES, GOATS, &o. 

These animals should be mounted on the same principles aa 
i-econunended for bears. A different mode must, however, 
be adopted in skinning the animals, wMch the horns render 
necessary. It is performed in the ordinary manner until the 
operator reaches the neck. After cutting as near the head aa 
possible, another incision must be made, commencing undei 
the chin, which is continued to the bottom of the neck, 02 
from eight to ten inches in length. By this opening, the re- 
mainder of the neck is separated from the head ; the tongue 
ia cut out, and the occipital orifice enlarged, and the brain 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 677 

extracted thereby. The lips are now cut as near as possible 
to the jaw-boiies, and the operator must continue progres- 
sively ascending toward the forehead, and in this manner all 
the skin will be separated from the head, except at the nose, 
or point of the muzzle. All the muscles are next removed by 
the scalpel, and the skull well anointed with arsenical soap. 
The muscles T^ch have been cut out ai-e then imitated with 
chopped flax or cotton, which may be attached to the bonea 
with cement. When this is done, the head must be replaced 
within the skin. The orifice under the neck must now be 
sewed up with fine stitches, so that the hair may spread oyer 
them to conceal the seam. The other parts of the mounting 
are completed as directed for the bear. 

THE ELK 

Being an animal of stupendous size, should be mounted on 
a model the same as the elephant. 

Some of the smaller species of antelopes may be put up in 
the same manner as the cat, but using stronger wires. 

THE UBUS, BISON, BUFFALO, 

And other large animals, to be mounted in the sajne manner 
as the elephant. But their skins should be deeply imbued 
with turpentine. 

THE DOLPHIN, POEPOISE, &o. 

The structure of these animals, as well as of the other 
species of the first family of this order, differs but little in 
general structure. 

In skinning these, an incision is made under the chin, and 
continued to the extremity of the tail ; the skin is then 
detached right and left with the scalpel, or a sharp knife. 
"When the skin has been cut back as far as possible, disengage 
the vetebrsB at the tail, and this will enable the operator to 
detach the skin from the back ; the vetebrse are now cut close 
to the head, and the whole carcass removed. 

All this tribe have a thick layer of fat under their skin. In 
the operation of skinning it requires considerable dexterity to 
leave this fat, or blubber, adhering to the carcass. Practice 
alone will give this skill. When this has not bee n properly 
managed in the skinning, the only thing to be done afterward 
is to scrape it thoroughly with a knife. The oil which flows 
from it during the operation, must be soaked up with bran, 
or plaster-of-paris. 

There being no muscular projections in the skin of the 
porpoise, there is no use for wires in mounting it. A narrow 
piece of wood the length of the body is quite sufficient to keep 
the skin stretched, and stuffed either with tow or hay. Some 



678 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



montlis are necessary to render it perfectly dry and stiff, from 
its greasy nature. The grease almost always leaves some 
disagreeable looking spots on the skin. To remove these, and 
prevent a recurrence of them, powdered pumice-stone steeped 
in olive oil, is rubbed thickly on the skin with a hand-brush. 
It is then gone over a second time with emery and oiL It is 
rubbed in this way till the skin has a glossy appearance, when 
it may be rubbed dry with a woolen cloth ; and to complete 
the polish, a clean woolen cloth may be applied with some 
force to complete the gloss, which is natural to the skin in 
a living state. 

Where a very glossy appearance is wished, varnishes 
become necessary, but some difficulty has been experienced 
in getting these to remain attached k) the skin in all weathers, 
because the humidity of rainy seasons melts gum-arabic when 
it is used as a varnish, and when white varnish is appKed, 
both it and the gum Arabic fall off in pieces. To prevent the 
gum from falling off in this way, by its contracting, the solu- 
tion should have about an eighth part of ox-gall mixed with it, 
and the surface of any body to be varnished should be washed 
with ox-gall and water before the varnish is applied, which 
wiU, almost to a certainty, prevent it from cracking and fall- 
ing off. It must, however, be thoroughly dried before the 
varnish is applied. 

We may here state, that an animal the size of a fox or a 
cat, may be skinned, prepared, and finally set up, in the space 
of four or five hours, by a person who has had a littl<* practice 
in the art of Taxidermy, and that from ten to fifteeu minutes 
are all that will be required to skin an animal of th.9 §ize just 
mentioned. 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 



679 



PART SECOND. 

Of tb.e SKiuning, Stuffing and Preservation of Birds* 



OF SKINNING. 

IMMEDIATELY after a bird is killed, the throat and nos^ 
trils should be stuffed with tow, cotton, or fine rags, and a 
-small quantity wound round the bill, to prevent the blood from 
staining the plumage ; but should any get on the feathers, 
notwithstanding this precaution, the sooner it is removed the 
better, which should be effected by a sponge which has been 
merely moistened in water. Too much dispatch cannot be 
used in removing the skin, if the bird is shot in a warm 
climate ; but, in temperate regions, the bird may be allowed 
to cool. 

In proceeding to skin the bird, it should be laid on its back, 
and the feathers of the breast separated to tha right and left, 
when a broad interval will be discovered, reaching from the 
top to the bottom of the breast bone. (See fig. 4, for man- 
ner of separating the feathers, and using the scalpel.) A 
sharp pen-knife or scalpel must be inserted at the point of the 
bone, and cut the outer skin from thence to the vent, taking 
care not to penetrate so deep as the flesh, or upon the inner 
skin which covers the intestines. The skin will then easily 
be separated from the flesh in larger specimens by the 




p^ 



Fig. 4. — Manner of Holdinq the Hands while Skinning a Bird. 



680 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



fingers, or in smaller ones by passing a small blunt instrument 
betwixt the skin and body, such as the end of the scalpel 
handle ; with this you may reach the back. The thighs should 
now be pressed inward, as in the common method of skin- 
ning a rabbit, and the skin turned back so far as to enable 
you to separate the legs from the body at the knee joint. The 
skin is then pulled do\^Tiward as low as the rump, which is 
cut close by the insertion of the tail, as shown at fig. 5, but 
in such a manner as not to injure its feathers. The skin is 




Fig. h.—Bird Suspended ly One Limh for SMnning. 

now drawn upward the length of the ^xings, the bones of whiclk 
must also be cut at the shoulder joints {a, fig. 6) ; it is then 
pulled up tiU aU the back part of the skuU is laid bare, when 
the vertebrae of the neck are separated from the head, from b 
in fig. 6 ; and the whole body is now separated from the skiii. 
You next proceed to remove the brain through the opening 
of the skull, for which purpose it may be enlarged by a hol- 
low chisel or other iron instmment. The eyes must then be 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



681 



taken out by breaking tlie slender bones, wliich separate the 
orbits from the top of the mouth, in which you may be 
assisted by pressing the eyes gently inward so as not to break 
them. In skinning the neck, great care must be taken not to 
enlarge the opening of the ears, and not to injiu'e the eye- 
lids. The whole of the flesh is next to be removed from the 
under mandible. 

Several species will not admit of the skin being thus pulled 
over their heads from the smallness of their necks ; some 
woodpeckers, ducks, coots, &c. , fall under this description ; 
in which case a longitudinal incision is made under the 
throat, so as to admit of the head being turned out, which 
must be neatly sewed up before stuffing. The flesh from the 
head, wings, legs and rumj) must then be carefully removed 
with a knife or scalpel, and the cavities of the skull filled with 
cotton or tow. The whole inside of the skin, head, etc., must 
be well rubbed with arsenical soap or preserving powder, or 




Fig. 6. — SJceleton of Goshawk, supported iy a small Ii-on Ji»d. 

DEscitiPTiox OF Boxes shown in Fig. 6.— a, ball of the Ulna; b, b, b, the 
vertebrae of the neck, or cervical vertebra; c and d, the Sternum ; e, e, the Tarsusf; 
f, f, the Fibula; g, the Tibia ; h. h. the metacarpul bones; i, j, the Ulna ; ni, the 
Pelvis; n, the Os Coccygis; q, the Clavicle; s, Vertebra of the back; t, the Os 
Humeri. 



682 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

spirits of tnirpentine, or the solution of corrosive sublimate. 
When it is wished to stuff the bird, it may now be immedi 
ately done, as it will easily dry if in a warm climate ; but in 
low damp countries it will require artificial heat to do it 
effectually. 

When the skins are merely wished preserved, the bones oi 
the legs and wings should be wrapped round with cotton oi 
tow, so as to supply the place of the flesh ; the skin is then 
inverted and hung up to dry after using the arsenical soap, a» 
above directed ; before doing which, in larger birds, a thread 
or small string may be drawn through the rump and passed 
up the inside of the neck, and drawn through the bill, to 
prevent the head sketching too much by its own weight. In 
larger specimens, where cotton or tow is not easily to be met 
with, well dried hay may be used. 

The incision for removing the skin is frequently made under 
the wings. This may be done with marine birds to advant- 
age. The penguins and divers may be skinned by making 
tiie incision in the back. 

The tongue should either be kept in the mouth or sent 
home separately with the birds. 

The greatest care must be taken to prevent the fat and oily 
matter, so common to sea birds from getting on the feathers , 
pounded chalk will be found an excellent absorbent for apply- 
ing to these birds. 

In sending home specimens of birds, they should be each 
wrapped in paper, and closely packed in a box, and camphor, 
preserving powder, and strong aromatics, strewed among 
them to prevent them from being attacked by insects ; and 
they ought to be kept in a very d^ part of the vessel 

It is of the utmost consequence to know the color of the 
eyes and legs of birds, and these things should be carefully 
noted the moment they are killed ; and it should also be men- 
tioned whether they are male or female ; such a memorandum 
ought to be attached to the birds by a ticket. The season of 
the year in which the bird is killed must also be mentioned. 
It is also of much consequence to have good skeletons, and 
for this purpose the carcass may be sent home in a barrel, 
either in spirits or a strong solution of salt and water. 

MAJSTNEE OF SKINNING BIEDS AS PEAOTICED AT 
THE JAEDIN DES PLANTES, PAEIS. 

First, a needle full of thread is passed across the nostrils, 
and tied under the lower mandible. A little cotton is intro- 
duced into the mouth, and every care taken that neither blood 
nor oily matter is allowed to soil the feathers of the head, aa 
it is no easy matter to remove it from that part. 

The bird is laid on a table on its back, and the feet from 
yoTi, with the head placed toward your left hand. The fea- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 683 

there of the breast and belly are then divided right and left 
with a pair of forceps, and the down which covers the belly 
is pulled off. An incision is then made in the skin with the 
scalpel from the upper edge of the sternum, or breast bone 
{&g, 6, c), until you reach the middle of the belly (fig. 6, d). 
The skin of one side is then lifted with the forceps, and separ- 
ated from the muscles of the breast by the point and end of 
the scalpel, used alternately until you reach as near as possi- 
ble the wings. Having accomplished this, a small quantity 
of cotton, dusted over with flour or powdered whitening, is 
placed on the flesh to prevent the skin from adhering to it. 
The thighs are then forced forward, and cut through between 
the femur and tibia (fig. 6, e and /) ; the femur is then re- 
turned to its place in the skin. Yon then separate the skin 
from the rump by the use of the scalpel and the fingers, this 
part being left to sui)port the feathers of the tail. The part 
of the carcass which is now denuded of its skin is taken into 
the left hand, and the skin separated from the sides, in which 
operation small scissors are used for cutting any of the ten- 
dons which may be met with. The wings are now separated 
horn, the trunk by the end of the Os humeri (fig. 6, g), and 
again pushed back into their place. The neck and head are 
skinned as we have described at page 24, and the same method 
formerly pointed out is employed in removing the brain, 
while cotton and flax are applied and any moisture absorbed 
by means of plaster-of-paris or dry earth, which prevent the 
feathers from adhering. 

The wings are now removed, properly cleaned of their flesh, 
and restored to their place, after being rubbed with arsenical 
soap and dusted with the preserving powder. The flesh is 
removed from the thighs, the bones being carefully preserved 
and restored to their proper places, after being treated in the 
same manner as the thighs. 

In the larger species of birds all the muscles and fatty mat- 
ter which adhere to the skin are carefully cut off. Any gun 
shot holes in the skin are next sewed up from within ; a piece 
of thread is then attached to the first joint of both wings, and 
they are by means of it drawn together to such a distance as 
they may be supposed to have been apart when the muscles 
were on the body. This gives the wing" a set, so that when 
the bird is stuffed they naturally fall la.o the proper place 
and position, if the bird is in a quiescent posture. 

When birds are of a large size, take a piece of cord a yard 
long, one end of which should be made fast to a large nook 
or nail in the wall, from which the bird should be suspended, 
then with a running noose fastened round one of the thighs, 
as represented in fig. 5, the bird is suspended in such a man- 
ner as enables it to be turned in any direction without injury. 
The resistance afforded assists greatly in the operation oi 
■kinTiing. 



684 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Tlii iusides of the wings should hav« am incision made in 
them, and as much flesh taken away as possible, and some 
preserving powder introduced ; a little tow or oakum should 
be put lightly in to fill the skin, but not to extend it. If the 
bird is large, hay may be substituted for the above. The fea- 
thers must now be placed smooth, the wings laid in their 
natural position closed, and the subject put in a clean dry 
place, and exposed to the air for a few days till all moisture 
has evaporated from it ; after which the stuffing may be with- 
drawn, and many skins may be packed flat on each other. 

If the feet are large and fleshy, as in some of the gulls, 
geese, eagles, &c., an incision should be made along the sole 
of each foot, so as to expose the muscles to the action of the 
air, and also a quantity of preserving powder applied to it, 
otherwise they run every risk of becoming putrid and rotten. 
This latter precaution is not required in small bii'ds, in which 
the small quantity of cotton, that is put into them while 
drying, may be retaiued, unless the traveler is restricted for 
want of room, in which case they may be packed quite flat. 

Mr. Salt, while in Abyssinia, packed his bird-skins between 
sheets of paper, in the same manner as a herbarium, and 
they reached this country in perfect safety, and made excel- 
lent specimens when set up. In warm climates, the boxes 
should be well closed, and the seams filie'^ with warm pitcJi, 
on the outside, to prevent the intrusion o insects ; and the 
inside should be supplied with camphor, rtlusk, or tobacco- 
dust, which will prevent the attacks of the smaller insects. 

Till practice has given facihty to the operator, it will assist 
in keeping the feathers clean, if, as he opens the skin of the 
breast, he pins pieces of paper or linen cloth on the outside ; 
but, after a few trials, this will be unnecessary. 

Some of the marine fowls are so fat, that there is much 
trouble in separating it from the skin, and, in warm weather, 
great attention will be required to prevent it from running on 
the feathers. As much as possible should be scraped off, in 
the first place, with a blunt table-knife cr pallet-knife, and a 
quantity of powdered chalk appUed to aosorb what remains, 
which, when saturated with the oily matter, should be scraped 
off, and a fresh supply used ; after which, a much larger pro- 
portion of the preserving powder should be applied than in 
other birds which are not fat. 

When shooting on the seacoast, if the ornitholgist is not 
provided with these requisites for absorbing the oil, which 
flows quickly from any wounds of the skin, he wiU find dry 
sand a tolerable substitute. 

If, however, after every precaution, the oily matter should 
get on the feathers, the sooner it is removed the better, as in 
birds where the plumage is white, if it is allowed to become 
hftideued, it will produce a very disagreeable appearance; 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 685 

and, besides, render that part particularly liable to the attack 
of insects. There are several effectual methods of removing 
the gi'easy stains ; the first, safest, and best, is, by taking a 

Quantity of diluted ox-gall — or where it cannot be commanded, 
beep's gall, or that of any other animal — mix it with about 
double the quantity of water, and apply it with a sponge 
to the place which the fatty matter has touched, when it will 
immediately remove it. The next is by using a solution of 
B:Ut of turtiir, or x^otcrsh, or soda. This must be made vei^ 
weak, not exceeding half a tea-spoonful to a cup of water ; 
which will have the same effect as the gall. "Whichever of 
these are used, the place must be immediately afterward 
washed with pure water, so as to leave none of the gall or 
alkaline substance remaining. The gaU has a gummy tend- 
ency, and will glue together the fibers of the feathers ; and 
besides it has a great attraction for moistiu-e, and in humid 
weather TvdU become damp, and therefore produce mold ; 
the other alkahne substances must also be used with much 
caution and quickness, because they have the power of 
changing the colors of the plumage, so that they are most 
useful in white plumage, and therefore should only be used 
on colored feathers, where gall cannot be procui'ed. 

One general observation apphes to the preservation of aU 
animal skins, which is, they must be made perfectly dry, so 
that the sooner they are exposed to a free current of air the 
better ; and unless they are speedily and thoroughly dried, the 
skin will become putrid and rotten, and the hair or feathers 
wiU consequently fall off. If a skin is properly dried soon 
after it is killed, it will keep a considerable time -without any 
preservative whatever, only it will be the more liable to be 
attacked by insects afterward. 

The following excellent general directions for skinning, are 
given by Mr. Waterton : ' ' WhUe dissecting, it will be of use 
to keep in mind that in taking off the skin from the body by 
means of your fingers and little knife, you must try to shove 
it in lieu of pulling it, lest you stretch it. 

" That you must press as lightly as possible on the bird, 
and every now and then take a view of it, to see that the 
feathers, &c. , are all right. 

'* That when you come to the head, you must take care that 
the body of the skin rest on your knee ; for if you allow it to 
dangle from your hand, its own weight will stretch it too 
much. 

" That throughout the whole operation, as fast as you 
detach the skin from the body, you must put cotton immed- 
ately betwixt the body and it, and this will effectually prevent 
any fat, blood, or moisture, from coming in contact with the 
plumage. 

"As you can seldom get a bird without shooting it, a line 



686' THE HOME MECHANIC. 

or two on this head will be necepsary. If the bird be still 
alive, press it hard with your finger and thumb just behind 
the wings, and it will soon expire. Carry it by the legs, and 
then the body being reversed, the blood cannot escape down 
the plumage and through the shot holes. As blood will have 
often issued out before you have laid hold of the bird, find 
out the shot-holes by dividing the feathers with your fingers, 
and blowing on them ; and then, with your pen-knife or the 
leaf of a tree, carefully remove the clotted blood, and put a 
little cotton on the hole. If, after all, the plumage has not 
escaped the marks of blood, or if it has imbibed slime from 
the ground, wash the part in water without soap, and keep 
gently agitating the feathers with your fingers till they are 
quite dry. Were you to wash them, and leave them to dry 
by themselves, they would have a very mean and shriveled 
appearance. 

"In the act of skinning a bird, you must either have it 
upon a table or upon your knee, probably you will prefer 
your knee, because, when you cross one knee over the other 
and have the bird upon the uppermost, you can raise it to your 
eye or lower it at pleasure by means of the foot on the 
ground ; and then your knee wil always move in unison with 
your body, by which much stooping will be avoided and 
fatigue prevented." 

ON STUFFING BIRDS. 

The first thing to be done in stuffing is to replace the skull, 
after it has been well anointed with the arsenical soap, and 
washed with the solution of corrosive subhmate inside. The 
thread with which the beak is tied, is taken hold of by the 
left hand, and the head is repassed into the neck with the 
forefinger of the right hand, while the thread is pulled on the 
opposite side ; and we are careful that the feathers, at the 
margin of the opening,, do not enter with the edges of the 
skin. The bird is now laid on the table, with the head turned 
toward the left hand ; and the legs and wings adjusted to 
their proper situation. A flat piece of lead, about a pound 
in weight, is laid on the tail, while the feathers of the margins 
of the opening are raised by the forefinger and thumb of the 
left hand, to prevent their being soiled. The inside of the 
neck is now coated with the arsenical soap ; flax is stuffed 
into it, but not too tightly. The back and rump are anointed, 
and the body should then be stuffed with tow, to about a third 
of the thickness required, so that the wire may have a sort 
of cushion to rest on. 

Four pieces of wire are then prepared of a thickness propor- 
tionate to the size of the bird to be stuffed. The center piece 
should be somewhat longer than the body of the bird. At 
about a fourth of its length a small ring is formed, by the as- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



687 



eistance of the round pincer-s, or plyers, fig. 14, and the other 
end is pointed with a file. , This wire is oUed and introduced 
across the skull, and passed into the neck, through the center 
of the flax or tow with which it is stuffed, the ring being 
situated toward the anterior part of the skull, for the purpose 
of receiving the points of each of the wires that are passed 
through the feet and thighs. 

The following is the method by which this perforation is 
effected. A hole is bored with a common bradawl of the 
caUber of the wia-e which it is intended to use. The wire, 
which is to continue in the leg, is passed across the knee, and 




Figs. 7 to 10. — Wires used for Birds* 

brought out interiorly, and placing it into the ring abcrre 
mentioned ; the same operation is performed on the other side. 
The extremities of the wires of the legs, and the end of the 
central wire beyond the ring, are all twisted together with 
fiat pincers, and then bent toward the tail. The tail-bearer is 
next formed, which consists of the fourth piece of wire, with 
which an oval is formed, by twisting the two ends two or three 
turns, so that they may form a kind of fork, vdth the oval 



DiiSCRIPTIOX OF Figs. 7 to 10 -Fig. 7. The oval and head wires of a bird 
separated. Fig. 8. The tail-bearers separated. Fig. 9. The body-wire, the head 
wii-e, the tail-bearer and legs connected. Fig. 10. A leg-wire separated. 



f83 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

nearly the length of the body of the bird ; the two points of 
the fork must be sharpened with a file, and near enough to 
enable them to enter the rump, through which they must 
pass, and their points will be concealed by the rectrics, or 
large straight, tail-feathers, while the oval is within the body 
of the bird. If the bird is large, the tail-bearer must be 
firmly attached to the interior wires, by twisting a small wire 
several times round both. But unless the birds be large, it 
may remain quite free. The several wires are shown in figs. 
7, 8, 9 and 10. 

All the parts of the skin at which we can come must be 
thoroughly rubbed with the preserving soap, the rump in 
]3articular, which should besides be soaked with the solution 
of corrosive sublimate. The stuffing is now proceeded with, 
by inserting chopped flax or tow, till it has attained its proper 
dimensions. The skin is brought together and sewed up 
while we take the greatest care to separate the feathers at 
every stitch. 

The orbits of the eyes are next finished, by inserting with 
small spring forceps and a short stuffing stick, a small 
quantity of chopped cotton, while attention is paid to round 
the eyelids properly. The glass eyes are now inserted, taking 
care to place them properly under the eyelids. But, before 
fixing the eye, a little calcareous cement must be used, to 
prevent them from coming out. If any part of the nictitating 
membrane is visible below, it must be pushed up with a 
steel point. 

The wire frame- work, above described, is the most simple 
of any in its construction, and is better adapted for small 
than large birds. Indeed, it will hardly suit those of the 
larger species. The following is another method of construct- 
ing the frame-work, which may be used either in large or 
small birds : 

Like the former it is constructed of four pieces of wire. 
The center piece should be double the length of the bird ; it 
is bent at a third of its length of an oval form, and twisted 
two turns, the shortest end being passed into the oval, and 
then raised against the longer end, so as to produce a ring at 
the end outside of the oval, large enough to admit the two 
wires which pass from the feet to the inside of the bird. It is 
now twisted a second time, and firmly united to the longer 
end, which "ought to be straight, with a sharp point, effected 
by means of a file. As before directed, it is rubbed with oil, 
and fouced through the stuffing of the neck. It ought to be 
so constructed by measurement, that the oval part of the wire 
shall be in the center of the body inside. The wires of the 
feet and legs, as before directed, ought to be straight and 
pointed, and j^asssd through the soles of the feet as before. 
When the point has penetrated, the other end of the wire 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ipiim 




Figs. 11 to 20. — Various Implements used by the Taxidermist. 

Dkscuiption of Figs. U to 20.— Fig. 11. Blade of a scalpel for separating 
the skin of quadrupeds, birds, <fcc. Fig. 12. Blade and handle of a dilferently 
shaped scalpel. !• ig. 13. A pair of scissors used in skinning, &c. Fig. 14. Koiuid 
pincers. Fig 15. Cutting pincers for wire. Fig. 16. Pair of large forceps. Fig. 
17. Pair of small forceps. Fig. 18. A triangular bodkin or awl. Fig. 19. Circular 
bodkin. Fig. 20. Probing-needle. 



690 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

m^y be bent, so tliat by means oi it v/o may be able to assist 
in forcing up the remainder of the wire. The two internal 
ends of the foot-wires are twisted together, and curved 
within, so as to pass through the small circle or ring of the 
middle branch above the oval, to each side of which they are 
now attached with a piece of small string. 

The tail-bearer is constructed on the same principle, and 
attached in the same manner as before described, and the lat- 
ter apparatus is introduced after the neck and back are fin- 
ished in the stuffing. 

This practice of introducing the neck-wire, after the neck 
is stuffed, was first adopted at the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, 
and is now invariably adopted in that establishment in pre- 
ference to introducing it before the neck is stuffed. The 
neck of a swan or other long-necked and large birds, are even 
done so. It is unquestionably the best plan which has 
hitherto been discovered, as it preserves the cylindrical shape 
of the neck. 

ME. BULLOCK'S METHOD OF STUFFING BIEDS. 

Mr. Bullock, of the London Museum, Egyptian Hall, had 
another method of arranging the wires, which, after what we 
have ah'eady said, will be easily comprehended by a reference 
to fig. 21, where we have given a figure of his mode. After 
the skin is taken off and prepared, different sized, annealed 
iron-^\Tres are procured according to the size of the bird they 
are to support. The skin is laid on its back without stretch- 
ing it ; cut two j)ieces of wire, the one rather longer than the 
bird, and the other shorter, so as not to reach to the head of 
the bird ; twist them together, sharpen the end of the longer 
by means of a file, and pass one end through the rump, and 
the other through the crown of the head, near the base of the 
bill. Care must be taken not to extend the neck beyond its 
ordinary length, — a very common fault in most preservers. 
Lay a little tow along the back of the skin for the wire to rest 
on, then take two other pieces of strong wire and file them to 




Fig. 21. — Mr. Bulloclc's method of inserting Wires in setting up Bird. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 691 

a point at one end ; these are passed through the soles of the 
feet and up the center of the leg-bone, or tarsus. When 
within the body, they are to be fastened to the first wires by 
twisting them together, which, when accompHshed, may be 
supposed to represent the back-bone. The wire should be 
left two or three inches out of the soles of the feet, to fasten 
them in a standing position, as before directed. Two smaller 
wires are then passed through the wings, as in the- legs, and 
afterward fastened to the back-wires a little higher up than 
the leg-wires, taking care that no part of the skin is extended 
beyond its natural position. 

MR. BECCEUR'S METHOD OF STUFFING BIRDS'. 

Becoeur, the best apothecary in Metz of his day, the in- 
ventor of that truly useful preservative, the arsenical soap, had 
a method of prepaing birds peculiar to himself, which he 
successfully practiced. He stuffed recent specimens in very 
high perfection. And in support of the fact that they were 
well preserved, many specimens preserved by his own hand, 
still enrich the cabinets of France, and these were set up 
sixty-five years ago. 

A little attention and practice will enable any one to follow 
his method. He skinned his bird in the ordinary manner, 
extracting the body without cutting any of the extremities. 
The muscular parts were then cut away by a scalpel, while 
every endeavor was made to preserve all the ligaments. 
He then anointed the skin with the arsenical soap, and 
also the skeleton, and then returned it to -its place within 
the skin, and cai-efully disposed of the feathers on either 
side. He formed a ring on a piece of iron wire at nearly 
a third of the length of the wire, and passed this wire 
through the head ; the smallest side passed into the rump in 
such a manner, that the iron ring came under the sternum ; a 
leg- wire was then passed through each leg, so that the ends of 
them united to pass into the little ring in the middle of the 
back-bone, where they were secured with a string. The 
flesh of the muscles was replaced by flax, or chopped, cotton ; 
and when he had satisfied himself with the form, it was then 
sewed up, placed on a foot-board or support of wood where 
he gave it the attitude intended, of which he was always cer- 
tain, for a bird mouuted in this manner can only be placed in 
a natural attitude. 

Becoeur mounted quadrupeds in the same manner, and 
with equal success. 

M. MAUGE'S METHOD OF STUFFING BIRDS. 

Tliis naturalist had a method of preparation and stuffing of 
which he was the inventor, and which he practiced with con- 



692 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

siderable succes*. It was as follows : — (The bird is supposed 
to be a small one.) 

He took two pieces of wire, in length and thickness re- 
quired for the bird he was about to stuff. One of these was 
somewhat longer than the other. The longer piece he pointed 
at both ends with a file, and the shorter piece at one end 
only. One end of each wire was held under the fc re-finger 
and thumb of the left hand ; he then twisted the other parts 
five or six times round, about three-quarters of an inch from 
the point of the other wire with the finger and thumb of the 
right hand, leaving an.untvdsted space large enough for a 
finger to pass through ; he now twisted it four or five times 
more, leaving a second space untwisted for the purpose of 
passing the feet- wire through, and also of producing a trian- 
gular form with the first interval he had left untwisted, the 
smaller opening being one turn above the triangle. 

The wires for the feet were straight, and pointed at one 
end in the ordinary form. When the head and neck were 
stuffed, he introduced the long end of the center wire through 
the neck and skull, and the other extremity which was forked, 
and passed it across the rump to support the tail feathers. 
He then forced up one of the leg-wires, and brought the end 
of it through the small hole which was situated above the 
triangle, and then gave it an inclination toward the op- 
posite parts, and united the two with threads ; the same 
method was then adopted with the other leg. 

For larger birds, M. Mauge substituted the oval for the 
triangle. 

We shall now describe the new method invented by the in- 
genious Mr. Waterton. 

MK. WATEETON'S METHOD OF STUFFING BIEDS. 

"You will observe," says Mr. Waterton, "how beautifully 
the feathers of a bird are arranged, one falling over the other 
in the nicest order ; and that, where this charming harmony 
is interrupted, the defect, though not noticed by an ordinary 
spectator, will appear immediately to the eye of a naturalist. 
Thus, a bird not wounded, and in perfect feather, must be 
procured if possible, for the loss of the feathers can seldom 
be made good ; and where the deficiency is great, all the skill 
of the artist will avail him little in his attempt to conceal the 
defect, because in order to hide it, he must contract the skin, 
bring down the upper feathers and shove in the lower ones, 
which would throv/ all the surrounding parts into contortion. 

"You will observe, that the whole skin does not produce 
feathers, and that it is very tender where the featliers do not 
grow. The bare parts are admirably formed for expansion 
about the throat and stomach, and they fit into the different 
cavities of the body at the wings, shoulders, rump and thighs, 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 693 

fdih. wonderful exactness ; so that in stuffing the bird, if yon 
make an even rotund surface of the skin where these cavities 
existed, in lieu of re-forming them, all symmetry, order and 
proportion are lost forever. 

*' You must lay it down as an absolute rule, that the bird ia 
to be entirely skinned, otherwise yon can never succeed in 
forming a true and pleasing specimen. 

" You will allow this to be just, after reflecting a moment 
on the nature of the fleshy parts and tendons, which are often 
left in : 1st, They requii-e to be well seasoned with aromatic 
spices ; 2dly, They must be put into the oven to dry ; 3dly, 
The heat of the fire and the natural tendency all cured flesh 
has to shrink and become hard, render the flesh withered, 
distorted and too small ; 4thly, The inside then becomes like 
a ham or any other dried meat ; ere long the insects claim it 
as their own, the feathers begin to drop off, and you have the 
hideous spectacle of death in ragged plumage. 

" Wire is of no manner of use, but-on.the contrary a great 
nuisance, for where it is introduced a disagreeable stiffliess 
and derangement of symmetry follow. 

"The head and neck can be placed in any attitude, the 
body supported, the wings closed, extended or elevated, the 
tan depressed, raised or expanded, the thighs set horizontal 
or oblique, without any aid from wire. Cotton will effect aU 
this. 

" A very small proportion of the skull bone, say, from the 
forepart of the eyes to the bill, is to be left in, though even 
this is not absolutely necessary. Part of the wing-bones, the 
jaw-bones, and half of the thigh-bones remain ; everything 
else, flesh, fat, eyes, bones, brains and tendons, are all to be 
taken away. 

" Introduce the cotton for an artificial body by means of a 
little stick like a knitting needle, and without any other aid 
or substance than that of this little stick and cotton, your 
own genius must produce those swellings and cavities, that 
just proportion, that elegance and harmony of the whole so 
much admired in animated nature, so little attended to in 
preserved specimens. After you have introduced the cotton, 
sew up the orifice you originally made in the belly, beginning 
at the vent. And from time to time, till you arrive at the 
last stitch, keep adding a little cotton, in order that there may 
be no deficiency there. Lastly, dip your stick into the 
solution, and put it down the throat three or four times, in 
order that every part may receive it. 

"When the head and neck are filled with cotton quite to 
your liking, close the bill as in nature. A little bit of beea 
wax at the point of it will keep the mandibles in their proper 
place. A needJe must be stuck into the lower mandible per- 
pendicularly ; you will shortly see the use of it. Bring also 



694 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

. the jfeet together by a pin, and then run a thread through the 
knees, by which you may draw them to each other as near as 
you judge proper. Nothing now remains but to add the eyes ; 
with your little stick make a hollow in the cotton within the 
orbit and introduce the glass eyes into it. Adjust the orbit 
to them as in nature, and that requires no other fastener. " 

Great attention must be paid to the size of the orbit, which 
will receive within it an object much larger than the eye, so 
that it must be drawn together with a very small delicate 
needle and thread, at the part farthest from the beak. 

A small quantity of the solution is now applied to the biU, 
orbits, and feet. 

Take any ordinary box large enough for holding the bird, 
andfill with cotton three-fourths of it from the top at one end, 
and the other end forming an inclined plane ; make a hollow 
in it sufficient for the reception of the bird, place it in the 
box with its legs in a sitting posture ; take a piece of cork 
into which three pins have been stuck for legs, like a three- 
footed stool ; place it under the bill of the bird, and the 
needle which was formerly run through the bill is stuck into 
the cork, which will act as a support to the bird's head. If 
the neck is wished to be lengthened put more cotton under 
the cork, or vice versa ; and if the head is wished to be pro- 
jecting forward, it has only to be brought nearer the front of 
the box, humoring the cork, so as to place it in the position 
require. 

As the back part of the neck shrinks more in drying than 
the fore part, a thread must be tied to the end of the box, 
and fastened to the beak, to prevent the face from looking too 
much upward. If the wings are wished elevated, support 
them with cotton ; and if to be very high, place a piece of 
stick under them. 

Should you desire to expand the wings, the order of the 
feathers must be reversed, commencing with the two middle 
ones. When perfectly dry, place them in the natural order, 
and they wiU ever afterward continue as you wish them. If 
the crest is wished to be erect, the feathers must be moved in 
a contrary direction for a day or two, when they will soon 
take the position wished for. 

The box must now be placed out of the reach of the sun, 
air, or fire, so that the skin may dry slowly. The corrosive 
BubUmate is of much service in this respect, for it renders the 
skin moist and flexible for many days. The bird should be 
lifted every day, so that any faults may be corrected which 
take place while drying. 

The small wing-coverts are apt to rise, owing to the skin 
coming in contact with the wing-bones. The part which rises 
should be gently pulled with the finger and thumb for a daj 
or two, and the feathers pressed down. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 695 

The feathers should be frequently adjusted so as to render 
them distinct and visible. 

The legs begin to stiffen in three or four days, when it will 
be time to place them in the desired position ; and the toes 
either arranged or curved, so as to hold a branch, in which 
two spikes must be placed for the reception of the feet, 
whereon they are to be stuck, and can afterward be removed 
I at pleasure. All the threads which kept the different parts 
in their places may now be removed. 

Mr. Waterton touches the whole feathers with the solution 
of corrosive sublimate, so as to preserve them from the attack 
of moths. He says, "The surest way of proceeding is to 
immerse the bird in the solution of corrosive sublimate, and 
then dry it before you begin to dissect it." 

THE SIMPLEST METHOD OF BIRD SKINNING AND 

STUFFING. 

A fair specimen being obtained, take common cotton wad- 
ding, and with an ordinary paint-brush stick plug the throat, 
nostrils, and in large birds the ears with it, so that when the 
skin is turned no juices may flow and spoil the feathers ; you 
must then provide yourself with the following articles : A 
common pen-knife ; a pair of cutting plyers ; a pair of strong 
scissors, of a moderate size ; a button hook ; a narrow spoon ; 
and a hand vice. With these, a needle and thread, and a 
sharpener of some kind, to give your knife an occasional 
touch, you are prepared so far as implements go. Then pro- 
vide yourself with annealed iron wire of various sizes ; some 
you may buy ready for use, some not ; but you can anneal it 
yourself by making it red hot in the fire, and letting it cool 
in the air. Common hemp is the next article, cotton wad- 
ding, pounded chalk or whitening, and pounded alum or 
chloride of lime ; as to the poisons which are used, they will 
be spoken of by and by. You should also have a common 
bradawl or two, and some pieces of quarter inch pine, wheron 
to stand the specimens when preserved, if to be placed as 
walking on a plane ; if 
not, small pieces of 
twigs or small branches 
of trees should be kept 
ready for use, of vari- 
ous sizes according to 
the size of the bird ; 
something of the form 
seen in fig. 22. Cedar, 
or common laurel, cut 
in December, will serve 
best, but this must be 
regulated by fancy and Fig. 22.^Branch for Mounting a Bird. 




696 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

the requirements of the case ; oak boughs are sometimes of a 
good shape. Detailed instructions for mounting birds will be 
further on in this book. 

The best time for preserving specimens is in spring, be- 
cause then the cock birds are in the best feather, and the 
weather is not too warm. In mild weather three days is a 
good time to keep a bird, as then the skin will part from the 
flesh easily. If a specimen has bled much over the feathers, 
so as to damage them, wash them carefully but thoroughly 
with warm water and a sponge, and immediately cover them 
with powdered whitening, which will adhere to them. Dry it 
as it hangs upon them slowly before the fire, and then tritur- 
ating the hardened lumps gently between the fingers, the 
feathers will come out almost as clean as ever. To test whe- 
ther the specimen is too decomposed to skin, try the feathers 
about the auriculars, and just above the tail, and if they do 
not move you may safely proceed. 

Lay the bird on his back, and parting the feathers from the 
insertion of the neck to the tail, you will find in most birds a 
bare space. Cut the skin the whole length of this, and pass- 
ing the finger under it on either side, by laying hold of one 
leg and bending it forward, you will be able to bring the 
bare knee through the opening you have made ; with your 
scissors cut it through at the joint ; pull the shank still ad- 
hering to the leg till the skin is turned back as far as it will 
go ; denude the bone of flesh and sinew, wrap a piece of hemp 
round it, steeped in a strong solution of the pounded alum, 
and then pull the leg by the claw, by which means the skin 
will be brought again to its j)lace. 

After having served both legs alike, skin carefully round 
the back, cutting off' and leaving in the tail with that into 
which the feathers grow, that is, the " Pope's nose. " Serve 
the wing bones the same as the leg, cutting them off close 
to the body, and turn the skin inside out down to the head. 
The back of the skull will then appear, and you will now find 
it of advantage, as soon as you have got the legs and tail free, 
to tie a piece of string round the body, and hang it up as a 
butcher skins a sheep. Make in the back of the skull a cut 
of the annexed form, with your knife, which you can turn 
back like a trap-door, and with the mar- 
row spoon entirely clear out the brains ; 
A representing the neck, and b the skin 
tui'ned back. Having done this, wash 
the interior of the skull thoroughly with 
the alum, and fill it with cotton wadding. 
The next operation requires care and 
practice — namely, get out the eyes. 
This is done by cutting cautiously until 
Fig. 23.— Cw# in Head, the lids appear, being careful not to cut 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 



697 



the eye itself, and you can tlien.wiih a forceps, which you -will 
likewise find useful, pull each from its socket ; wipe the orifice 
carefully, wash it with tiie alum solution, and fill it with cotton 
wadding. Cut off the neck close to the skull, wash the stump, 
and the whole of the interior of the skin with the alum, and 
the skinning is done. Now comes the stufiing. The ordi- 
nary mode used by bird-preservers is a simple one, and 
answers very well ; there is a French method, however, 
which has its advantages, and will be adverted to hereafter 
Take a piece of wii-e suitable to the size of the bird — that is 
as large as the legs will carry — and bend it into shape shown in 
fig. 24, areijresenting the neck, b, the body, and c, the junction 
of the tail, allowing sufficient length of neck for the wire to 
pass through and beyond the head, and being sharpened at 
each end, which may 
be done by obliquely 
cutting it with the 
plyers. Wind hemp 
on this wire to the 
size of the bird's 
body, which you 
should have lying by 
you to judge from, 
and it will ajDpear 
somewhat as shown 
in fig. 25. You can 
shape it with the J^ig- 24. — The Wire Bent for Inserting. 
hand but be careful 

no;: to make it the least too large ; and after you have finished 
it to your satisfaction, you may singe it as a poulterer would 
singe a fowl, which will make all neat ; but be particular to 
wind the hemp very tight. 

Then take the skin, lay it on the table on its back, 
and pass the wire at the head into the marrow where the neck 




Fig. 25. — The Hemp wound on the Wire. 

is cut off, through above the roof of the mouth, and out atone 
nostril, and draw it up close to the skul] ; turn the skin back, 
and draw it down over the hemp body, and pass the wire 
spike protruding througli the other end through the flesh upon 



698 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

which the tail grows, about the center, and rather below than 
above. The skin may now be adjusted to the hemp body, and 
se^vn up, beginning from the top of the breast, being particu- 
larly careful always to take the stitch from inside, otherwise 
yoti will draw in the feathers at every pull. At first sew it 
very loose, and then, with the button-hook, draw it together 
by degrees. 

With the plyers cut two lengths of wire long enough to pass 
up the legs and into the neck, and leave something over to 
fasten the bird by to the board or spray upon which it is to be 
placed. The next operation requires some address and great 
practice, namely, the passing the wire up the legs. This is 
done by forcing it into the center of the foot, and up the back 
of the legs into the hemp body, through it obhquely, and into 
the neck until it is pretty firm. In doing this, you must 
remember the ordinary position of a bird when alive, and, 
therefore, instead of passing the ^\dre the whole way within 
the skin of the leg, when you get to the part where you have 
cut off the bone, that is, the knee-joint, pass it through the 
skin to the outside, and in again through the skin from the 
outside where the knee would come naturally in the attitude 
of standing or perching — it makes little difference which. 
This is essential, because if the wire be passed the whole way 
inside the skin, it produces a wrong po- 
sition of the legs. The accompanying 
cut wiU illustrate the direction of the 
line in which the wire should run. The 
bird is now stuffed, and you may at 
once place it upon a spray, or board, as 
the case may be. In placing a bird upon 
a spray the first joint should be bent 
almost on a level with the foot ; and, in 
placing a bird on a board, one foot should 
be placed somewhat behind the other. If 

the wings are to be closed, as is usual, you jfr^o. 26. Correct Way. 

may readily bring them into their place 

by putting the fingers under them, and pressing them together 
over the back ; you may then pass a needle, or large pin, of 
which you should have a good supply by you, through the 
thick part of the upper wing into the body, and so by the 
lower wing, and if you allow these to protrude, you may fasten 
to one of them a piece of thread, and wind it carefully and 
lightly round the body, which will keep the feathers in then- 
places, and this thread should be kept on for a fortnight or 
three weeks, until the bird is dry. The tail should be kept in 
its place also for the same time, by a piece of thin wire bent 

over it thus : The only thing now to do is to 

put in the eyes. — --^ The color of course depends on 

the bird, and these you may buy at any fishing-tackle shop. 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 



699 



If you do not use eyes too large, you will find little difii- 
culty ; the juice of the hds will act as a sufficient cement. 
As to the mounting, I shall say nothing about that now, 
but shall only advert shortly to a French method of pre- 




Fig. 27. — Wire used in the French Method. 



serving, which is 
superior firmness. 
of the neck to the tail, make 
measure taken being from a 
the neck only, and place in 



in fig. 27, the 
Avind taw for 
same way 



more difficult, but has the advantage of 
It is this : Measuring from the insertion 
a wire frame as 
to B. Upon this 
the skin in the same way as 
before directed, only that instead of one wire being passed 
through that in which the tail grows, it is a fork that is passed 
through it. Having formed this frame, fit on to it two legs 

as shown in fig. 25 ; and after 
the frame itself is in the skin, 
pass these from the inside dowoi 
each leg, instead of from the out- 
side, and fasten them on to the 
frame with the plyers by twist- 
ing the ends, b b, round the 
frame, c, shown in fig. 27. This 
will make all firm, and you can 
then fill the body with cut hemp 
and then sew up. One word as 
to the other preparations used 
by bird-preservers. These are 
either corrosive subUmate or re- 
gulus of arsenic, which is yellow 
and of a consistence like butter. As before said, in cold sea- 
son, when no flies are about, alum will do perfectly ; in warm 
weather either of the two others may be used. I should pre- 
fer the former — corrosive sublimate — as the other is "messy, " 
and the chief object is to dry up anything which can be at- 
tacked by flesh-seeking insects. When you have finished 
your bird, you can lay the feathers with a large needle 
— it is as well to have one fixed in a handle and kept for this 
purpose — and, tying the two mandibles of the bill together 
with a piece of thread until the whole specimen has hardened 
and dried, the work is done. 




Fig. 28.— The Wire Legs. 




700 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

PART THIRD. 

Instructions tox Moiuiting Birds, Dried Skins, VeatherSf 4k«. 



MOUNTING DSr GENERAIi. 

THE stuffing of the bird being completed, the next thing 
is to place it either on a branch, or if a bird ■vrhich doea 
not sit on trees, on a piece of plank ; whichever of these it is, 
two holes are bored for the reception of the wires, which have 
been allowed to protrude from the soles of the feet, for fixing 
the bird. (JFig. 11.) These of course are pierced in such 
situations as are necessary for the attitude or position of the 
legs. The wires are put through these holes, and twisted so 
as to secure the bird in its position. The attitude of the 
bird will of course depend upon the fancy and taste of the 
operator, and ought to be in conformity with the manners of 
the bird in a living state. 

A general notion will be gathered of the position of birds' 
legs by studying the skeleton which we have reiDresented in 
fig. 6. It will be noticed that the three bones wliich com- 
pose the legs are articulated somewhat in the form of the letter 
Z, varying of course in the inclination of the various bonea 
according to the species of bu"d. A fault in most stuJffed 
birds is the great and unnatural length of leg seen under 
the feathers, from the circumstance that the bones are too 
straight. Even in the division of birds called Waders, such 
as cranes, storks, herons, &c., whe/e the legs are straighter 
than in most other orders, the upper joint of the thigh is sub- 
ject to a considerable inclination. This natural position of 
the bones of the legs must never be lost sight of in setting 
up bu'ds after stuffing. 

The bird being now placed on its suppoi-t, and the legs 
ready to receive their final position, the first thing to be done 
is to press tho two thumbs on the lower limbs or tarsi, (fig 6, 
e,) to give them a backward inclination from twenty to sixty 
degrees, according to the manner of sitting, natural to the 
bird. The tibia, or second bone, (fig. 6, /,] is next bent for- 
ward, by which these bones will now have a position similai 
to those of fig. 6. The head, neck and wings are then bent, 
and fiaed according to the expression intended to be given 
to the bird. On the disposition of these, much of the beauty 
and character depend. The habits of the bird require to be 
well known, to enable the o]3erator to perform this important 
part with life and spirit. li the living habits of the bird are 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



701 




without the reach of his study, he shoukl devote himself to 
the accounts given of it by naturalists, and also examine the 
best plates in which the species is rex3resented. 

The most common attitude is shown in fig. 31. Where 
several birds are grouped together the effect is often increased 
by varying the positions ; as, for instance, like those shown 
in figs. 32 and 33, where one bird is represented looking 
downward, and another reaching upward as if to capture a 
tempting tid-bit. In such cases various little accessories, as 
a bird's nest, an insect on a branch or other appropriate thing, 
increase the attractiveness. 

Having fixed on the attitude, it now only remains to put 
the feathers into their natural order as smoothly and re- 
gularly as possible, and to keep them 
in this state, they should be bound 
around with small fillets of muslin 
faste ed with pins, as represented in 
fig. 28. The bird should then be 
thoroughly dried, by placing it in an 
airy situation, if in summer ; or if in 
winter near the fire, but not so close 
as to affect the natural oil contained 
in the feathers. The want of proper 
attention in drying ruins many a fine 

specimen ; i^ long kept damp putri- j,,. 28.-Bird Pinned up. 
dity ensues despite all preservatives, -^ 

when the skin will become rotten, and the feathers will soon 
fall off ; besides, the mold and long continued damp change 
t*he chemical properties of the preservatives used. 

After the bird has been throughly dried, the fillets are re- 
moved ; the wire which protruded from the head is cut off as 
close to the skull as possible with the wire-cutting pincers 
elsewhere shown. It must then be attached to a circular, or 
other shaped piece of wood, with the generic and specific 
name and sex, as well as its country and locaHty attached to 
it, on a small ticket, when it may be placed in a museum. 

Young hands commonly suppose that a bird should stand 
bolt upright, with the legs almost perpendicular, or at right 
angles to the perch. Tliis is a great mistake, and never to 

be found in nature. Do we 
stand rigid, like a foot-soldier 
on drill ? Does not a bird, as 
well as ourselves, accommo- 
date itself to the thing upon 
which it rests ? Assuredly it 
does ; for birds do not, as a 
young bird-stuffer endeavors 
to do, find always a perch to 
29. — Position of Legs on Perch, rest upon in the plane of tho 




Fig. 



702 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



horizon. It therefore follows that as he keeps himseK upright, 
his legs must accommodate themselves to his perch. So in the 
ground-Lircls there is a gentle slope backward from the hind 
toe, the balance being preserved in both cases by throwing 
the body forward in proportion. It is not uncommon to see 
birds preserved with wings and tail spread. Now ordinarily 
speaking, this is very objectionable, because very unnatural. 
I A bird preserved is supposed to represent a bird in a state of 
repose, that is, not in flight ; the only modification allowable 
being with regard to those birds whose manner it may be to 
have the wings more or less open on occasions ; thus the falcon 
tribe, supposing they are represented as devouring a quarry, 
or two birds toying with each other. It may be that a bird 
essentially aereal may be represented as actually on the wing. 
With regard to the case there are two methods : one a bell- 
glass, which glass being now so reasonable, is certainly a very 
pretty and reasonable way of mounting, but inapplicable to 
birds which are to be placed on a wall, or to be represented 
flying ; although this may be managed by attaching one wii-e 




Fig. 30 — The Glass Case for Holding Specimens. 

from the point of the wing to a twig sufficiently firm, which it 
will scarcely appear to touch, if managed adroitly. It is like- 
wise indespensable that a bird for a shade should be stuffed so 
well, as to look nicely in aE positions. One thing must alv/ays 
be remembered, do not have your case a shade tco large, just 
clear the object so as not to stint it for room ; and in flat cases 
this appHes chiefly to depth, for it should have sufficient light, 
or it will not look well. Wooden cases should be made as 
sUght (in thickness) as is consistent with firmness ; well- 
seasoned white pine is best ; and the case should be formed 
of back, top, and bottom, open at the front and sides, and at 
each corner of the front two slight pine supports, rabbited on 
their inner edges ; the whole appearing as in fig. 30. 

Having the case prepared, it should be papered with strong 
manilla paper on the top and back within, and when the 
paste is dry, washed over carefully with size and whitening, 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 703 

tinted with a little stone-blue ; some add some touches of 
white subsequently to represent clouds, the ground represent- 
ing the air ; some also paste a landscape on the back, but this 
must be good, or you had better have plain color. The bird 
to be placed in this case is either perching, standing, oi 
flying ; for the latter directions have been given. As to the 
two former, the perch must be firmly fixed in the small piece 
of flat wood upon which it previously stood, and put in upon 
it, the wood being fastened to the bottom of the case, either 
by screwing from below, from above, or gluing with stout 
glue, or by passing wire through two holes in the bottom of 
the case and the wood, and clinching above ; in this case, or 
in screwing from below, let the wire or the screw into the 
wood, and putty over neatly, and so if the bird is represented 
standing. 

The bird being fixed, the next thing is the decorating 
or *' weeding," as it is technically called, and here we enter 
upon a subject so entirely of taste and fancy, that no fixed 
rules, as to the disposition, can in all cases be given. One 
rule applies equally to this as to landscape painting, viz., that 
there should always be a compensation of objects ; that is, if 
you have a tuft of gTass on one side which rises toward the 
top of the case, there should be something in the lower op- 
posite corner to strike the eye, but not to rise above the mid- 
way up at furthest, and the ground, or floor, should not be 
over-furnished with moss, &c. After the bird is fixed, the 
whole bottom should be carefuly glued over with thin glue, 
taking care, where the bird's feet are on the bottom, not to 
touch the toes with the glue. Some fine-sifted sand or gravel 
should then be sifted over it, and it will adhere wherever the 
glue has touched ; for this purpose a email tin shovel is best, 
of the usual shape, and about two inches wide by four 
long, with a handle in proportion, which can be made to 
order at any tinman's for a trifle. 

Everything used in "weeding" should be baked in a slow 
oven, otherwise spider's eggs and minute creatures, which are 
pretty sure to be contained in it, will make their appearance 
after the case is closed, in the disagreeable formof destroying 
your specimen. Moss, &c., by being slowly dried, wiU also 
keep its color better. Yellow moss, found on the roofs of old 
oarns, and dark gray of the same species, are very generally 
useful ; and where yellow moss cannot be had, the white oi 
gray may be colored with chrome, and looks as welL Water 
plants fade, being more or less succulent, and hence a little 
common water-color with gum will be used with advantage 
and look less artificial than oil paint, which is often used. 
Fern looks very pretty as an adjunct for heath-birds, but it 
should be dried gradually and carefully, when quite full grown, 
and a small touch of light green, permanent white forming 



704 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

a portion of it, will give it a freshness and more natural ap« 
pearance. 

Grass in seed (not in flower) of varioas kinds is also a yery 
pretty addition ; but bird-preservers have a habit of using 
dyed grass, and yellow and red x&t^anihymum or everlasting, 
which is certainly to be avoided, and indeed anything which 
(s unnatural. If it is wished to introduce a lump of earth, or 
ftn apparent bank, a piece of thick brown paper, bent to the 
requisite shape, and glued over and covered with sifted sand 
or gravel, has a very good effect ; but insects and butterflies, 
or artificial flowers, unless they are extremely natural, would 
better be avoided. Regard should also^be had to the sea- 
son at which the bird is usually seen. For instance, summer 
birds are, of course surrounded by green and living objects, 
but autumn or winter visitants by decaying or dead herbage. 

It has often been made an experiment to represent snow, 
but it is diflS-Cult to obtain anything white enough, and at the 
same time of a crystalline character, which, of course, it should 
be. Potato farina nicely dried, mixed with Epsom salts 
pounded very fine, does not make a bad substitute ; but the 
real difficulty lies behind, namely, the fixing it, and, more 
than all, the least damp takes very much from its appearance, 
if it does not destroy the effect, and hence we must have 
recourse to mineral aid, and any very white mineral powder 
mingled with pounded glass is perhaps best. It is unnecessary 
to say that the herbage upon which it is meant to rest should 
be touched all over with paste, not glue, and the white mix- 
ture shaken over it and left to dry. What will highten the 
effect very much, if prettily executed, is a back landscape with 
a dark leaden sky and nearly black earth mingled with moss. 

To represent water, a small piece of looking-glass, surround 
ed with moss, &c. , answers very well. The biUs and legs of 
birds should be always varnished, and where the natural color 
fades after death it should be restored by a thin coat of oil 
color of the required shade. The bird being fixed and the 
case garnished, nothing remains but to put in the glass ; this 
is in three pieces, one for the front and a piece at each end. 
This can be pasted in with very strong paper round the edge, 
advancing sufficiently over the glass to hold it. In doing this 
it is not necessary to be very particular to avoid pasting the 
glass, as after it is dried it can be wiped clean with a damp 
cloth. The last operation is a very simple one, and is done 
in a few minutes. You must procure some black spirit-var- 
nish, which you can make yourself by dissolving the best 
black-sealing-wax in spirits of wine, and should be kept cork- 
ed ; when this is good it acts as paint and varnish at the same 
time, and dries as fast as it is x?ut on. One or two brass 
rings screAved on at the top of the back of the case will finish 
the bird, and if the case be nicely and closely made, there ia 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



705 



no limit of time to which the preservation of the specimen may 
not extend. 

We must now describe the mode of setting np a bird with 
extended wings. After having proceeded with the stuffing as 
formerly directed, and the central supporting wires have been 
put in thoir places, pointed wires are to be thrust from the 
inside through the wings, reaching as far as the metacarpus 
and the carpus, that is to the arms and fore arms ; the ends 
which remain in the body are formed into ovals, of the same 
size as those of the central wires, and firmly attached to them 
either with threads or small wires. The mngs may now be 
raised to any hight wished, and disposed agreeably to the 




Fig. 31. — The Goldfinch. — Common Position in Mounting. 

taste of the operator ; and should he feel a difficulty in 
pleasing himself, a good engraving may be copied. 

If it is intended to represent the bird flying, its wings are 
extended to their utmost stretch, the tail placed horizontally, 
and exx^anded, the neck forced forward, the legs and feet 
drawn close up to the breast, with the toes closed. It may 
then b3 suspended from the ceiling, by a piece of very fine 
trass wire, such as is used for jDiano-forte strings. This may 
either be attached to a hook in the back, placed betwixt the 
wings or drawn through the body with a very long slender 
needle. The best plan, if you have determined on the flying 
position, previous to stuffing, is to fix this small wire to a 
transverse piece of strong wire, attached to the oval inside, 



706 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

which should be placed pretty far forward, so as to balance 
the bird. 

A very spirited and striking position is, when the bird ia 
about to take flight. In this attitude, it is placed with the 
body inclining forward, and the wings slightly raised, which 
can be managed without the assistance of the external wires 
by merely placing a little cotton or tow under the mngs. 
while the skin is yet wet. 

The moment of alarm is also an interesting attitude. To 
express this, the one foot should be placed stretched forward, 
and the other drawn near the body, and considerably bent. 
The body must be thrown to one side, with the wing on that 
side much elevated and spread out, while the other is placed 
lower and less diffuse ; the tail must be expanded, thrown 
down at the point, and arched ; the neck should be elevated, 
and inclined to the side next the foot which is drawn up ; the 
head turned to one side, and the eye riveted on the object of 
its terror ; the bill must also be open. 

In eagles, vultures, and other birds of prey, a favorite 
attitude is the position of seizing their prey. This varies 
according to the species. The golden eagle, when he has 
seized his victim, expands his wings and tail, like a curtain 
around the bird, gazes upward, and throws his head back- 
ward in an attitude of triumph and defense ; the feathers of his 
crest and neck stand nearly erect, and he gazes around in 
every direction, to observe if he is safe from the intrusion of 
an enemy before he devours his victim. Suitable birds or 
small animals may be stuffed and placed in the bird's talons. 

Descriptions of t hiis kind are endless ; let those who intend 
stuffing birds stud y nature in its various details, and where 
this cannot be corns at, good books and prints will be found 
an excellent substitute. 

METHOD OP MOUNTING DETED SKINS. 

Having treated of all the different modes which we know can 
be successfully practiced, in stuffing recent specimens, we 
must now say something respecting the setting up of skins 
which have been preserved by travelers, and sent home from 
distant parts. 

The general method is exactly the same as in stuffing recent 
specimens. There are, however, some preliminary steps, 
which it is necessary to know. 

If the specimen sent home has been partially stuffed, our 
first business is to undo the stitches, if it has been sewed— 
which was an unnecessary process. We then remove the 
whole cotton or tow from the inside, by the assistance of for- 
ceps, and from the neck with a small piece of wire, twisted or 
hooked at the end. Having finished this, small balls of wet 
cotton are placed in the orbits of the eyes, and the legs and 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 707 

feet are wrapped round with wet cotton or linen ra^. A 
damp cloth is then thrown over the bird, and it is allowed to 
remain in this state till next day. The neck and body are then 
filled with wet linen or cotton, and it will be ready for com- 
mencing setting up in four or five hours. 

The eyes are now put in, as directed in the recent subjects, 
and then stuffed in exactly the same manner. Some difficulty 
will, however, be experienced with respect to the leg-wires, 
and it will require more time and care from the dryness of the 
legs, to get the wire to penetrate. Having proceeded so far 
as to get the bird generally formed, the wings are next ad- 
justed : this also is frequently difficult, omng to the stiffness, 
of the tendons, and want of proper attention in skinning and 
drying them at first. Indeed with some of the South American 



Fig. 32. — The Oriole. — Looking Downward, 

birds, a proper adjustment of the \vings is found impracti- 
cable, owing to the attempts of the native Indians of Guyana, 
who seldom dispose them properly. There is something ex- 
tremely curious in the efforts of a man in a savage state. 
Whether this arises from want of observation, or a vitiated 
taste, it is difficult to say ; but it is a notorious fact, that any 
attempt at art, by an uncivilized people, is generally widely 
different from what the object is in nature : and yet the op- 
portunities of these people are much greater, in studying or 
even observing natural objects than that which is enjoyed by 
a man in a civilized state. 

We have seen a bird entirely mounted by the Indians of 
Guyana, which was placed in an attitude so fantastic, and so 
out of all possibility of the bird's assuming in a natural condi- 
tion, that we could only suppose it to be the harlequin of birds. 



7QS THE HOME MECHANIC. 

When these skins — frequently exceedingjy valuable from 
their rarity — are undone, to be remounted, it is oftentimes 
found utterly impossible to get the wings to take a natural 
, set ; in which case, there is no other remedy but cutting them 
off close to the body, and fixing them anew. The scapulars 
are separated, they are softened with damp cloths, and then 
wrapped up with bands of sheet lead, to give them a proper 
set. When we have got them in their natural shape, they 
must be fixed to the sides by cement and cotton, and a long 
pin through each, with the head concealed among the 
feathers. The scapulars, which we have cut off, must then be 
cemented on, and they will effectually cover the joining of the 
wings. The bird being now arranged, and all the feathers 
adjusted, it is wrapped round with small bands of fine linen 
or muslin, and set aside till thoroughly dry. 

Should any feathers be disengaged, duriug the mounting, 
they must be kept, and when the bird is dry, we can replace 
them in their proper situations with a pair of forceps, after 
they have been touched on their shafts with the cement ; the 
feathers around the place in which we intend to insert them, 
must be held up with the probing-needle, fig. 20, page 33. 

If any of the feathers are disarranged in mounting, and have 
got a wrong set, the only way to remedy the defect is to pull 
them out with forceps, and re-insert them with cement. 

OF MOUNTING BIEDS, FEATHER BY FEATHER. 

Rare birds are frequently received from foreign countries, 
the skins of which are in such a state of decay, that it is im- 
possible to mount them by the ordinary processes above de- 
scribed. The only way in which they can be preserved, is to 
mount them feather by feather, which, however, is a very 
tedious method. It is as follows : 

Procure a piece of soft pliable wire, such as is use4 by bell- 
nangers ; or take some of the ordinary wire used, and make 
it red-hot in the fire, and allow it to cool gradually, when it 
will become quite pliable. Take five pieces of this, of differ- 
ent lengths, and form them into the skeleton of a body ; 
namely, two for the back, one on each side, and one to repre- 
sent the breast-bone. Imitate the shape of the bird's body 
as nearly as possible. The wires must be roughened with a 
file, at the place where aU the wires meet, at the neck and 
rump ; and first wrap the place next the neck round with 
strong thread or fine brass wire. The two pieces intended for 
the back must bend gently downward, and be gradually 
separated from each other toward the center, and brought 
together again at the place intended for the rump, whither 
they must intersect each other, and be twisted two or three 
times, to keep them in their places ; they are then spread out 
as supports for the tail ; the side pieces are next formed, so as 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



709 



to represent the natural bulge of a bird's body, and attached 
to the rump ; the piece representing the breast is then formed, 
joined at the rump, and afterward continued as long as the 
other tail-pieces, to support the center of the tail ; while at 
the front extremity a piece is left, for the purpose of form- 
ing a neck to which to attach the head. Two leg- wires are 
attached to the side-wii-es, by being rolled round them for 
several turns. Thus we have in our framew^ork an outhne of 
the bird's shape, any shght defects in its form being corrected 
as the work progTesses. 

After this body has been properly formed, it must be 




Fig. 33. — The Wren. — Position Reaching Upward. 

wrapped round with tow-sliver, (see department of Recipes,) 
and the neck thickened to its required dimensions. When 
this is accomphshed, the head, legs, wings, and tail are soften- 
ed in the usual manner ; the eyes are then fixed in with some 
cotton introduced into the orbits, with a little of the cement. 
The wings and tail are now placed on a table, with a flat 
leaden weight above each, to restore them to their natural 
shape. The leg-wires are then passed through the legs, com- 
mencing at the top, and bringing them out at the soles of the 
feet, and left with a piece extending beyond the claws. 



710 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

The tail is now fixed on, by first attaching to it a quantity 
of cotton with the cement, and when dry, it is fixed to the 
part intended as the nimp. 

The feet of the bird must be fixed into a piece of wood, as a 
perch, the ends of which must be left some inches beyond the 
body. The end next the tail is fixed into a table-vice, with 
the belly upward, and the head pointing toward the operator. 
The feathers are now put on, commencimg under the tail, or 
crissum, with what are termed the under-tail coverts ; a coat- 
ing of cement must be previously laid on, to attach the 
feathers with. It is proceeded with upward to the breast, and 
finally the length of the neck, taking care to put the proper 
feathers on their respective sides, as the side-feathers have all 
an inclination to one side. The iDird is now turned with the 
back up, still keeping the head toward the stuffer ; and the 
wings are fixed on with cement, and pins forced through the 
beards of the feathers to conceal the heads. When this is 
done, put on the feathers of the rump, and proceed upward, 
as has been done with the belly. After reaching the top of 
the neck, the head is then fixed on with some cotton immersed 
in the cement, and allowed to dry before attempting to put on 
the feathers. 

In this mode of mounting a bird, there are several things 
which must be attentively adhered to ; these are — first, not 
to put the feathers too thick, for there is a danger of running 
short ; secondly, all the shafts of the feathers must have a 
small bit cut off the tip, so as to admit the cement and to give 
them a firmer hold ; and thirdly, that the feathers should all 
occupy their respective parts ; and fourthly, that they should 
be arranged as they are in nature on these parts, as the dis- 
position of every part of the body is peculiar to itself. 

At first, this mode of setting up birds will be found a diffi- 
cult task, but a little practice and experience, will make it 
familiar and comparatively easy, although it will always be 
found a tedious process. We have seen some specimens set 
lip in this way, which we could hardly detect from those 
mounted in the ordinary manner. 

Besides what we have already said concerning the stuffing 
apd preparing of birds, there are many details connected with 
particular species which demand our attention, and which can 
only be described as regarding that species. It will, however, 
be impossible for us to enter into all these minutely, but only 
give a few examples as general guides. We shall take these 
in systematic succession. 

PEESERVATION OF COLOR. 

In the preservation of the feathers of birds, little else is re- 
quired to prevent the dissipation of their colors than to keep 
Qiem as much as possible from air and light. These two 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 711 

agents, which were indispensable to their beauty and pt-iXeo- 
tion in a Hving state, now exercise their influence as destroy- 
ers, and that influence will sooner or later work its ends ac- 
cording to the quahty, texture, or color of the object with 
which it is contending. The feathers are now deprived of 
two agents, which in a hving state contributed to their vigor 
and their beauty, namely, the internal circulating juices which 
they received from the body of the animal, and the oxter lal 
appUcation of oil by the bill of the bird, supphed from a 
gland which is placed over the rump of all birds. 

The colors of the rapacious tribes are not so evanescent aa 
those of many others, as they, for the most part, are composed 
of intense browns and blacks, which are not so easily absorbed 
by light or air, so that they continue for a very long period 
without any sensible difference. Theie are, however, certain 
other parts which are liable to almost immediate change of 
color after the death of the animals, and these are the cere 
and skin of the legs and feet, and the naked skin on the heads 
and necks of vultures and their congeners. We shall treat of 
these individually. 

OF YULTUEES. 

The birds of the genera VuUur and Cathartes of Temminck's 
arrangement, are distinguished from their heads and gener- 
ally the upper parts of their necks and a spot on their breast 
being naked. Now, this naked skin usually loses color and 
becomes of a dirty brown or yellow. It is evident, therefore, 
that if we wish to give these parts in our stuffed specimen the 
appearance they exhibited while alive, artificial means must 
be employed ; and this can only be done by the appUcation 
of paints or colored varnishes. It is well known, that during 
life these naked skins on the head and neck, were hable to 
change of color from the influence of the passions of the bird, 
as either excited by love, fear, or rage ; all of which must be 
considered in preserving. For example, the skin of the ash- 
colored vulture is of a Hvid blue color when the bird is in a 
quiescent state, but under the influence of love or rage, be- 
comes of a bright reddish hue ; so that either of these must 
be adopted in our preserving, according to the character we 
intend giving. 

The king of the vultures has a fleshy cere of a bright orange 
color, or rather inclining to yermiUon, which is prolonged 
above and between the nostrils to an elevated comb ; a scarlet 
circle surrounds the eye ; the remainder of the head is purplish 
black. The back of the head is covered by a patch of short 
blackish down, and behind the eye on either side are several 
broad and deep wrinkles of skin, giving origin to a thick and 
prominent fold, which extends obhquely downward along the 
whole of the neck. This fold, when the bird is in an imexoited 



712 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

state, is of a reddish-brown, nungled with blue, and is 

traversed by inimerous liucB of minute black hairs, from the 
upper part of the neck, which is of a bright red, the color 
gradually becomes less intense, and fades into orange and 
yellow as it descends toward the lower part. The legs and 
claws are of a dusky black, but sometimes the former are red- 
dish, and at other times of a dirty white. This depends on 
the age of the bird. 

Now, as all these colors which we have described are liable 
to change, immediately after death, it is evident that consider- 
able nicety will be required to give the preserved specimen 
the appearance of nature. These must, therefore, be supphed 
artificially with the varnish colors, which we have particularly 
described in their proper place ; as also the combinations for 
the formation of compound colors. The reddish brown color 
mentioned, of which the fold is composed, must be touched 
by a mixture of the scarlet varnish, with a little powdered 
burnt-umber and the blue streaks with it is traversed, cohered 
above with cobalt blue. All the varnish colors have a tendency 
to shine, which, it will be evident, is not the character of any 
part of the skin, or caruncle of the bird described. As soon, 
therefore, as it is thoroughly dry, which wiU be in about 
an hour, the whole surface must be gently rubbed with very 
fine sand-paper, which will completely remove the gloss, and 
give the appearance of nature. 

Some nicety will be required in painting between the hairs, 
but it can be easily managed with a little caution. Sometimes 
these hairs are liable to become brown, in which case they can 
be touched with the black varnish. 

As these bii'ds are inhabitants of warm climates, scr^e care 
is requisite ; and after killing them, to prevent decay, the 
tendons of the legs should be extracted to prevent their being 
attacked by moths, and their place suppUed by some cotton 
and preservatives. The tendons are extracted by means of a 
longitudinal incision made behind the tarsus. The edges o! 
this incision can easUy be brought together when the biid i; 
under the process of preparation. 

PAHEOTS, &c. 

Great latitude may be used with the setting up of this tribe 
— their colors are for the most part very brOliant, but they 
should not be too much exposed to the light. Those having 
purple, orange, or lilac tints, are particularly hable to change. 

The legs, cere, and naked parts of the face of parrolf , and 
their congeners, will require, for the most part, to be refreshed 
with the colored varnishes. Their limbs and bills have fre- 
quently the appearance of being powdered. In these species, 
this appearance is to be given by washing the bill, &c., with 
mastic rarnish and dusting the poUen powder through t* 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 713 

pepper-box over tlienx. This powder is described in the 
Chapter of Recipes. 

In this order are also the woodpeckers, which are true 
climbing birds, and should be attached to the trunk or 
branches of trees — they seldom expand their wings — they are 
assisted in climbing by their tail, consequently, it alinost 
always forms an inclined plane to the back of the bird. 

The comb of the common cock and its wattles will require 
to be colored with the red varnish, to which must be added 
a little lake ; as also the comb of the Guinea-fowl. The 
particular passion of the animal at the time will also have to 
be studied, and the color of his head and throat, which is 
liable to great change under different impulses. The male 
pinnated grouse has a large, skinny membrane on each side 
of its neck, which it inflates during the season of love, and 
which is in size and color similar to a ripe orange. This must 
be colored with the red varnish, mixed with either gamboge, 
or chrome-yellow. The general habits of these birds are fami- 
liar to most people. 

OSTEICH, &c. 

It falls to the lot of few to preserve this bird ; but as the 
frame- work for it must necessarily be commensurate with its 
size, the manner of constructing it we shall describe : 

A piece of wood eighteen inches long, and four inches in 
circumference, is first taken, and a, hole bored eight inches 
from one of its ends, from which form a groove, to the short- 
est end, both above and below ; four inches from the other 
extremity two holes are pierced, at four and six inches from 
the end. The wire which is to support the head of the ostrich 
is passed through the perforation, which is eight inches from 
the end ; it must extend eight inches out of the hole ; the two 
ends of the wire are now pressed flat down into the furrows, 
which have been formed for their reception. Strong wire 
nails are put in obliquely to keep the wires in their places ; 
the heads of the nails crossing above the wires ; and by the 
addition of strong iron wire they can be still more firmly 
bound down. The long end of the wire, which has been left 
uncut, must now be cut off, corresponding to the lengthof the 
neck, head, and bill, of the ostrich, which must be accurately 
measured. The wire must be at least a quarter of an inch in 
diameter. It must be inserted into the neck previous to put- 
ting in the stuffing. The head and neck are now filled with 
chopped tow, and when properly stuffed, as well as part of the 
back, the wood must be placed in the middle of the body tb 
supply the place of the oval in smaller birds. The leg-wii'es 
must be at least three-eighths of an inch in diameter. When 
the first one has been forced up, it must now be extended to 
the hole, which was six inches from the end, passed through 



714 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



it for the length of six or eight inches ; curve it back to the 
end, and fix it down with two nails. The same is done with 
the wire of the other leg, which must be i^assed through the 
other hole. The whole are now firmly wrapped round with 
cord. The other parts of the stuffing are done as directed for 
smaller birds. 

Besides a strong application of arsenical soap, we would 




Fig. 34. — Virginian Eared Owl. 

recommend Mr. Waterton's plan of touching all the feathers 
with the solution of corrosive subHmate, and the roots of the 
feathers should be well soaked with turpentine, which ought 
to be repeated at intervals of some months. 

The same method of stuffing is adopted with the emu, the 
galeated cassowary, and other large birds. The head of the 
latter bird is of a fine vermilion behind, and also the wattle 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 715 

on the throat, with its appendages ; these must be colored 
with the red varnish ; the sides of the face and throat are of a 
beautiful violet tinge, which is composed of lake and Antwerp 
blue, in combination with the white varnish. When dry, 
these must be dimmed with sand-paper, as formerly dii-ected ; 
the legs must get a coating of the same color, with tiie addition 
of some white lead to render it paler. 

OWLS. 

In skinning the different species of the owl genus, much care 
is to be exercised in drawing the skin of the neck over the 
head, as it is generally so very large in proportion to the thick- 
ness of the neck that it is no easy ta^k to get it to pass over 
without either stretching or tearing the skin ; this must be 
assisted by the use of the nails of the thumbs, and easing it 
aU round with the end of the scalpel-handle. 

The attitudes of these birds are always very simple. They 
are generally sitting in an upright posture, or devouring their 
prey, in which little energy is expressed. 

WAI>EES. 

This order consists of birds which frequent the sea-shore, 
margins of lakes and rivers, feeding on fish, worms, &c. In 
stuffing, they must necessarily always be placed in standing 
or walking postures. They walk with a slow and measured 
step. Many of them enter the water without swimming, and 
hence their designation, Waders. As we recommended in the 
vulture tribe, the tarsi must be opened, and the tendons 
taken away to prevent putridity, to which they are very liable. 

Birds of this order must be placed on flat boards, or circles 
of wood turned for the purpose. Their skins are of a very 
greasy nature, and require to be particularly well primed with 
the arsenical soap, and after they have absorbed this, with the 
solution of corrosive sublimate. 

THE FLAMINGO. 

This bird is one of those, whose head cannot be passed 
within the skin of the neck during the operation of skinning, 
so that a different mode of treatment becomes necessary. 
When obstacles of this nature come in our way, we must, in 
the first place, bare the neck as high as possible, by introduc- 
ing the scalpel-handle between the skull and the skin. The 
neck is then cut off as high as we can reach, and the skin 
pulled straight while it is yet soft. It now becomes necessary 
to make an incision behind the head, by wnich to remove the 
remaining vertebrae and the brain of the bird ; the skin must 
be laid back to the right and left, and cut as low as the first 
vertebra. The occipital hole is then enlarged, that we ma;y 
more easily extract the brain ; and the eyes are taken out bj 



716 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



the same opening. The jorifice is then sewed up with very 
fine stitches, taking care to separate the feathers at every 
stitch. 

The wire of the neck must be placed before the stuffing ia 
commenced. The other, parts are stuffed in the ordinary way. 
The leg- wires are next put in. The bone of the tarsus is 
pierced near the heels with a triangular bodkin (see page 33, 
fig. 18). The point of the leg- wire is now introduced into the 
perforation. When the point has reached the knee-joint, we 
must press pretty hard while we turn it round and round, till 
it penetrates the apophysis of the tarsus, after which, it will 
easily be forced to the top of the thigh. The feet being pal- 
mated, must be spread, so that the membrane which con- 
nects the toes may be distinctly seen, and the webs put down 
with small pins. 

The same mode of treatment is pursued with the Jabiriu 
{MycteHa Australasiaf and Americana). 

GEEBES, &o. 

These are all covered with a very thick, glossy, and close 
plumage ; their legs are placed far behind. They are but ill 
adaptad for any variety of form in stuffing. When out of the 
water they can hardly walk, and sit quite erect with the point 
of their toes merely seen beyond their feathers. An error very 
common in stuffing this bird, is exposing the tarsus too much, 
which in a living state, is hardly ever visible while sitting. 
They are very easily prepared, as the thickness of the feather- 
ing conceals most defects. 

GEESE, DUCKS, &o. 

The chief thing to be attended to is the placing of the legs. 
They are, for the most part, set far back. Some of the bodies 
are erect when sitting, with the legs almost entirely concealed, 
and others, such as the swan, goose, &c. , have their bodies 
placed horizontally. The thigh-bone (fig. 2/, page 25,) should 
be forced close to the breast in front, with an angle of forty- 
five degrees below. The body should be nearly horizonal, 
Mid the neck in the form of an S» 

The duck tribe have, in general, large heads, and like the 
flamingo, cannot be passed through the neck, so that it fre- 
quently becomes necessary to make an incision at the nape 
for extracting the brain and eyes. 

Others of this order have very fat skins inside, so that great 
caution is necesssary to prevent it from soiling the plumage 
while taking off the skin. A very large proportion of cottoc 
and tow, therefore, becomes necessary. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 

PAKT FOURTH. 



717 



The Smitlisoniaii Institute Metlkod of Cleansing, Preparing 
and Preserving Bird's Eggs. 



GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR EGG-BLOWING. 

EGGS are emptied with the least amount of trouble, at one 
hole, which should be drilled in the side v.Tlth such an 
instrument as shown in the sketch, figs. 35, 36 and 37. The 
great object to be attained is the formation of a circular hole 
with smooth edges. Collectors not having such a drill as is 
here recommended, will find a common nail or three-cornered 
needle a useful substitute, but great care must be used. The 
hole should, of course, be proportioned to the size of the egg, 
and the amount of incubation it has undergone. Eggs that 
are hard sat upon are m ore easily blown by being kept a few 
days, but the operation must not be deferred too long, or they 
are apt to burst violently immediately on being punctured, 
though this may be avoided by holding them under water 
while the first incision is made. The hole being drilled, 





Figs. 35 to 39.— Egg Shell Drills. 

IFigs, 35, 36 and 38, natural size. Figs. 38 and 39, enlarged ] 

[611 



718 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

the lining membrane should be cleared away jErom the orifice 
with a pen-knife, fig. 40, by which means not only is the re- 
moval of the contents, but also the subsequent cleansing of 
the specimen facilitated. The small end of a blowpipe, fig. 
41, should then be introduced, while the other extremity is 
applied to the mouth, and blown through, at first very gently. 

If the embryo is found to be moderately developed, a 
stream of water should be introduced by means of a syringe, 
fig 44, and the egg then gently shaken, after which the blow- 
pipe may be again resorted to, until by the ultimate use of 
both instruments, aided by scissors, fi.gs. 46 and 47, hooks, 
fig. 45, 49 and 50, knives, figs. 51, 52 and 53, and forceps, fig. 
16, the contents are completely emptied. After this the egg 
should be filled with water from the syringe, gently shaken, 
and blown out, which process is to be repeated until its 
interior is completely cleansed, when it should be laid upon 
a pad of blotting paper or fine cloth, with the hole down- 
ward, its position on the pad or cloth being occasionally 
ciianged until it is perfectly dry. During this time it should 
be kept as much as possible from the light, especially from 
the sunshine, as the colors are then more liable to fade than 
at any subsequent time. In the case of very small eggs, 
when fresh, the contents may be sucked out by means of a 
bulbed tube, fig. 45, and the interior afterward rinsed out as 
before. 

It is always advisable, as far as possible, to avoid wetting 
the outside of the sheU, as the action of water is apt to remove 
the bloom, affect the color, and in some cases alter the crys- 



Fig. 40. — Penknife, half natural size. 

tallization of the shell ; consequently dirt stains or dung spots 
should never be removed. While emptying the contents, it is 
as well to hold the egg over a basin of water, to avoid breakage 
in case of its slipping from the fingers. Eggs that are very 
hard sat upon, of whatever size they be, should be treated in the 
manner which we shall give a little further on, in describing 
fig. 55, which is a method superior to any other known at present 
to the writer for preventing injmy arising to them. Should the 
yelk of the egg be dried up, a small portion of carbonate soda 
may be introduced, with gTeat care that it does not touch the 
outer surface of the shell, in which case the color is likely to 
be affected, and then the egg fiUed with water from the 
syringe, and left to stand a few hours with the hole upper- 
most, after which the contents are found to be soluble and 
are easily removed b the blowpipe, assisted by one of the 
hooks. It is almost unnecessary to add, except for the benefit 
of beginners, that the maidpulation of the different instru- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



719 



ments requires extreme caution, but a few trials wil/ ^ve the 
collector the practice necessary for success. Those who may 
still prefer to blow eggs by means of two holes, should not 
make them at the ends of the eggs, nor at opposite sides, but 
on the same side, fig. 54. In this case the hole nearest the 
smaller end of the egg should be the smallest, and the con- 
tents blown out at the other. If the holes are made at the 
ends of the e^gs, it not only very much injures theic appear- 
ance as cabinet specimens, but also prevents thur exact 
dimensions from being ascertained accurately ; and if they 
are made at opposite sides, the extent of the show surface is 
thereby lessened. 

Eggs should never be written on until the shells are per- 
fectly dry, or the ink will be found to run, and the inscription 




Figs. 41 to 45. — Implements used in Egg-Blowing. 
[Pigs. 41 to 44, natural size. Fig. 45, half natural size.] 

will be found illegible. Eggs with chalky shells, such as those 
of gannets and cormorants and others may be conveniently 
marked by incising" with a pin or the point of an egg -drill. 
The inscriptions should always be placed on the same side as 
the hole or holes, and confined within the smallest limits 
possible. For drilling the hole or holes the side presenting 
the least characteristic marldno-s should be selected. 



^20 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



DESCEIPTION OF EGG BLOWING IMPLEMENTS. 

Eigs. 35, 36, and 37, represent drills for making neat and 
circular holes in the shell. These drills should be made of the 
best steel that can be procured, and of different sizes. Eig. 
35 is meant for the smallest eggs, even humming bird's, u p to 
those say of a robin. The grooves forming the drilled surface 
should be cut with a chisel. Fig. 36 will suit the generality 
of eggs, excepting those of very large birds and of sea fowl, 
which usually lay eggs with a strong but soft sheU. The 
grooves may be cut either with a chisel or a file, but if with 
the latter, greater care will be requisite in its use. Eig. 37 is 
intended for the largest eggs, and even some of the smaller 
ones which have a chalky shell, such as the crotophaga. The 
grooves are cut with a file. In the manufacture of these drills 
the greatest care is necessary that the grooves should lie 
parallel to one another, and that their edges should be smooth. 
The smaller the drill the more acute should be the angle it 
forms at the point. The drills may be fitted with handles or 





46 and 47. — Scissors. 



not, according to fancy. Those with handles are less likely 
than the others to cramp the fingers of the performer, an in- 
convenience wliich often causes breakages. 

A separate sketch is given with the enlarged views of the 
end of a drill, in order to show more plainly the manner in 
which the grooves should be cut. 

Figs. 41 and 43 represent blowpipes for emptying eggs. 
They are best made of metal, and tor this purpose nickel or 
German silver is preferable, as being less liable to rust. A 
collector should have two sizes, as a large size is not conveni- 
ent for small eggs, and a small one causes loss of time in blow- 
ing large eggs. The chief ]3oint to be attended to in their con- 
struction is that the lower orifice should be as large as the size 
of the pipe permits. It is of course necessary that they 
should be perfectly smooth outside toward the lower end. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



1^21 



They may be straight, although the curve will be preferable. 

Fig. 45 represents a tube for emptying small eggs by suction. 
The bulb is to receive the contents of the egg and prevent 
them from reaching the mouth of the operator and thus caus- 
ing nausea. This instrument is best made of thiu glass, as 
thereby it can be easily kept clean. The same remark applies 
to this as to the last, with respect to the size of the lower 
orifice. 

A piece of thin wire, fig. 42, long enough to pass entirely 
through the tubes, should be always kept at hand by the 
operator, to remove obstructions which are likely to occur 
from small pieces of the embryo or half diied yelk being 
accidentally drawn into the tubes or blowpipes. 

Fig. 44 represents a syringe, which will be found useful in 
rinsing out the inside of an egg. It 
may be made of any metal, though the 
pewter ones are apt, from their weight 
to be clumsy. Nickel is recommended 
as for the common blowpipes. The 
lower orifice should be as large as pos- 
sible. The ring at the top should be 
large enough for the insertion of the 
operator's right thumb, as it must be 
remembered that he has to work it 
with one hand. The nozzle as shown 
in the figure, is rather too tapering. 
It should be smaller in proportion at 
the upper end. 

Figs. 46 and 47 represent scissors 
of shapes likely to be found very use- 
ful. Fig. 47 for cutting through the 
bones of the embryo before it is ex- 
tracted, and fig. 46 for cutting off por- 
tions of it while it is being extracted 
by one of the hooks represented in 
figs. 48, 49 and 50 ; which should vary 
in size from that of an ordinary pin 
to that of stout wire. The length of 
their straight portions should be ra- 
ther more than the diameter of the 
egg they are used on. 

Fig. 51 represents a knife with a 
crooked blade, somewhat like a bill 
hook, and may be useful in cutting up 
the embryo prior to extraction. 

Figs. 40 and 52 represent a pen- 
knife and scalpel with elongated j^igs. AS to ol —Van om 
blades or shafts, to admit of their be- Implements. 

ing introduced into the egg to cut up ^g^^ description.] 




122 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



the embryo. Fig. 40 is also, perhaps, the best instrument \vit!i 
which to remove the lining membrane from the hole. This is 
done by inserting the blade perpen diculaily and slightly scrap- 
ing the edge of the hole, as soon as it drilled. 

Fig. 53 represents a forceps ioY extracting the pieces of the 
embryo when cut up. The spring should not be too lively, 



Fig. 52. — Scalpel, half nainral size. 

as its resiliency may occasion breakage. The grasping siar- 
faces should be roughened to prevent the pieces shpping. 

Fig. 55 shows a piece of paper, a number of which when 
gummed on to an egg, one over the other, and left to dry, 
strengthen the shell in such a manner that the instruments 



Fig. 53. — Forceps, half natural size. 

above described can be introduced through the aperture in 
the middle and worked to the best advantage, and thus a fully 
formed embryo maybe cut up, and the. pieces extracted through 
a very moderately sized hole ; the number of thicknesses re- 
quired depends greatly upon the size of the egg, the length 
of time it has been incubated, and the stoutness of the shell 




Fig. 54. — Holes Drilled in Fgg. 




55.- Cut Paper. 



and the paper. Five or six is the least number that it is safe 
to use. Each piece should be left to dry before the next is 
gummed on. The sjits in the margin cause them to set pretty 
smoothly, which will be found very desirable ; the aperture 
in the middle of each may be cut out first, or the whole series 
of layers may be drilled through when the hole is made in the 
egg. For convenience sake the papers may be prepared 
akeady gummed, and moistened when put on in the same 
way that adhesive postage-stamps are used. Doubtless patches 
of Hnen or cotton cloth would answer equally weU. When the 
operation is over, a slight application of water, especiaily it 
warm, through the syringe, will loosen them so that tney can 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 723 

be easily removed, and tliej can "be separated from one another 
and dried to serve another 1 ime. The size represented in the 
sketch is that suitable for an egg of moderate dimensions, such 
as that of a common fowl. 

Observations. — The most (effectual way of adopting this plan 
of emptying eggs is by using very many layers of thin jjaper 
and plenty of thick giim, but this is of course the most tedi- 
ous. Nevertheless, it is quite worth the trouble in the case of 
really rare specimens, and they will be none the worse for 
operating upon from the delay of a few days, caused by wait- 
ing for the gum to dry and harden. 



(PART FIFTH. 

Skinningj Preserving and Setting up Fislies, Reptiles and 
Molluscous Animals, Sl^c. 



OF FISHES IN GENERAL. 

THE best method of securing the scales and colors of fish, is, 
as soon as they are caught, to apply cambric or tissue pa- 
per to them, which will soon dry and adliere firmly ; the body 
may be then taken out and the skin dried. When the skin is 
to be stuffed, roll it in a moist cloth, which will not only ren- 
der it i^Hable, but also soften the tissue paper, so as it can be 
removed, when the colors wiL be found to be much brighter 
than by any other method with which we are yet acquainted. 

OF SKINNING FISH IN GENERAL. 

The fish should be procured as fresh as possible, more 
particularly if it is one of those on which the scales are loosely 
attached. Lay it on one side and cut out the gills with a pair 
of scissors, then introduce a Httle tow or a piece of sponge 
into the place to i)revent the blood from flowing during the 
process of skinning ; carefully wipe the sides of the fish with 
a damp sponge ; let the fins be raised and gently extended, 
and two pieces of paper, something the shape of each, be 
placed under them, only extending a little beyond them. 
Coat the paper A^dth a weak solution of gum-arabic, and put 
a piece of similar size on the top oi the fin, by pressing these 
gently they mU adhere and dry in <i few minutes ; these wiB. 
keejj the fins extended, and preserve them during the opera- 
tion of stuffing. When these are dry, take a i^iece of tissue 
paper or thin silk, and press it gently on one side of the fish. 



724 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



The natural glutinous matter which covers the scales will be 
sufficient to make it adhere firmly, it will soon dry and form a 
strong protection to the scales during the skinning ; without 
this precaution the skin could not be removed from mullet, 
sea-beaver, &c., without the scales being much disfigured, and 
losing many of them. Indeed, in such fishes, it is not amiss 
to put on an additional coating of paper ^\-ith gum-water. 
This will not only secure the scales, but will also assist in keep 
ing the proper form of the fish, by jDre venting distention. 

When these papers are thoroughly dry, turn the fish on a 
soft cloth, with the uncovered side upward, and open it with 
sharp scissors from the bottom of the tail-fin to nearly the 
point of the snout, keeping as correctly on the lateral line as 
possible, w^hich can be seen in most fishes. The cheek should 
be afterward cut open, so that the flesh may be removed from 
it, cut also the flesh from the opposite cheek, and supply its 




^^ }^>^^>-'''' 





Fig. 56. — Common Percli, slioiving application of the Paper* 

place by cotton. The skin must now be detached from the 
flesh, which will require some care at first. It must be com- 
menced at the head, and separating it downward with the 
assistance of a knife, and the fin-bones must be cut through 
with scissors. The spine must now be cut through close to 
the head, and also at the tail, and the body removed. 

All the animal matter having been comf)letely removed 
from the skin, the inside must be wiped dry, and the pre- 
servative applied in the same manner as directed for birds and 
quadrupeds. Great care is necessary to prevent it from being 
too much distended. 

In sharks an d large fishes, an incision is mad^e below the 
head, and extended to the fin of the tail ; the skin is then 
separated on each side with a scalpel, cutting back as fai- as 



*DE8CRIPTI0N of Fig. 56. — The common perch, showing- the manner in which 
the paper is attached for the purpose of extending the fins, a, pectoral fin ; b. 
vcDtral fin ; c, anal fin : d, first dorsal fin ; e, second dorsal fin. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 725 

possible, so that the vertebras may be cut close to the head. 
The tail is then skinned. The head is pushed inward, and 
the skin passed over it above, and all the cartilage cut care- 
fully away. Care must be taken not to enlarge the branchial 
openings too much, which would render it necessary to sew 
them up again, and it is not easy to hide a seam in a fish's 
skin. 

Biadon, Tetradon and Batistes, and their congeners, are 
opened by the belly. The Ostracion is enveloped in a skin, 
which consists of a single piece, the tail of which only is free 
and flexible. The opening in the beUy must not be large ; 
the tail must be opened, the flesh cut away, and stuffed with 
cotton. 

STUEFING. 

The skins being properly anointed, are filled with tow or 
eotton. This must be so managed that there will be no prom- 
inences on the outside of the skin, which, in fishes, is smooth 
and even for the most part. When properly filled, they must 
be sewed up, and set aside to dry in the air, but not exposed 
to the rays of the sun. In a few days, the papers with which 
the fins were extended are taken off, by damping them with a 
sponge. The glass eyes are now introduced, after filling the 
orbits with cotton and a little cement to secure them in their 
places. The skins may then be varnished, and laid aside to 
dry. Mr. Bullock, of the London Museum, always used tur- 
pentine varnish. Some specimens of his mounting have as 
much the appearance of the living subjects as any we have seen. 

Shaeks. — In stuffing these large fishes, it is necessary to use 
a stick for a center support . This must also enter the head, 
through the opening of the throat. If it is intended that the 
specimen shall be suspended from the ceiling, wire-hooks 
must be fastened into the wood. From these must be placed 
upright wires, so that they penetrate the skin, and pass through 
the back. Let the whole internal surface of the skin be well 
rubbed with the preservative. The body is then stuffed to 
its full size, and afterv/ard sewed up. The stuffing of the 
tead must be completed thi-ough the orbits of the eyes, and 
also by the mouth . This finished, the glass eyes are inserted, 
as in other animals, and fixed by means of cement. 

Many species of fish have semi-transparent cartilages con- 
nected with the eyes. These must be imitated with gum-arabis 
and powdered starch, as well as the cornea of the eyes. 

The skins of aU fish, which are similar to that of sharks, 
must be well supplied with spirits of turpentine, after they are 
mounted, more particularly the head and fins ; but as they are 
not glossy, they do not require to be varnished. 

When the fins are strong, it is necessary to keep them ex* 
tended by means of a wire introduced through them. 



726 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

The frog-fisli, or fishing-frog, fig. 57, is easily preserved, as 
the colors are not so liable to change as in many other species. 

Salmon, trout, tench, carp, pike, &c., are very easily pre- 
served, as the scales are firmly attached to the skin ; and 
although they become somewhat dim from drjdng, their colors 
and brilliancy are considerably restored by means of varnish, 
if appUed before they are thoroughly dried . 

After a lapse of time, the varnish will rise into little scales ; 
to remove these, nitric acid, diluted in water, must be applied 
to the whole external surface, which has the eflfect of com- 
pletely taking off the varnish, or at least of raising it from the 
skin, which, when allowed to dry, can be wholly removed by 
rubbing it with a small brush. It may then be varnished 
again ; when dry, it will ever afterward continue quite solid. 

The late Mr. Stuckbury had a method of preparing the 
fresh-water fishes of Britain, which was much admired at the 




Fig. 57. — TJie Frog Fish or Fishing-Frog. 

time. He skinned them under water, by which means he re- 
tained the scales in gTeat perfection. But this method is too 
troublesome to be generally adopted. 

What is above recommended will apply to almost all fishes ; 
but where there is any difficulty, it must be left to the ingenu- 
ity of the operator. 

Those travelers who do not wish to take the trouble of 
skinning fishes themselves, should preserve them in barrels 
of spirits. Each should be wrapped up in a separate piece oi 
cloth, to prevent their scales being rubbed off by friction. 

When travelers intend to preserve fish in siDirits, they ought 
to provide themselves with casks of from four to ten gallons, 
well bound with iron hoops. An oi:>ening is cut near the 
bunghole, of the dimensions of six inches by four, of this 
shape u. The piece of wood cut out must be so beveled, oat- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 727 

wardly, that it cannot fall into the cask, and must be used as 
a stopper, when the barrel has been filled with specimens. 
The fish put in shouj J each be naniLered with a smaU leaden 
ticket, or piece of wood, T\ith the number turned or cut out, 
and corresponding notes taken of its locahty, whether male 
or female, and of its name, if known, or the provincial name 
of the country, with any other circumstances connected with 
its history which can be procured. When the barrel is filled, 
the stopper must be put in, and hermetically sealed, to pre- 
vent the evaporation of the Hquor. 

If a female is procured, much swollen with spawn, an open- 
ing must be made at the anus, and the spawn extracted by it. 
Tho liquor must not be too strong, otherwise it will injure the 
colors of the fish. See the strength mentioned in the receipts. 

Amateurs can preserve small specimens of fish very well by 
siiiiply removing the entrails, eyep, and brains, and powdering 
freely and thoroughly with alum or saltpeter on the flesh side, 
and allowing to dry with slow heat ; having previously closed 
the opening by which the entrails were removed, and filling 
the interior with waste cotton. They may be fastened to thick 
card-board, with wire running through the fish and turned on 
the back of the card. Varnish can be appUed afterward. We 
have even presv^rved small sturgeon by simple drying, without 
any preparation whatever, but these specimens are very liable 
to the attacks of small insects. 

LOBSTERS, CEAES, &o. 

Crabs, lobsters, and their congeners are all protected by a 
shell, which is easily preserved, although there is considerable 
difficulty in preserving the colors of some species. 

The flesh must be extracted from the large claws of lobsters 
and crabs by breaking the smallest possible piece from their 
points and introducing a small crooked wire ; in the smaller 
claws the flesh must be allowed to dry, and to facilitate this, 
extremely small perforations should be made in opposite sides 
of the shell by means of a sharp triangular awl, so as to allow 
the air to pass through it. 

In lobsters the branchite and all the intestines must be cut 
away, the latter is effected by separating the body from the 
lower parts, and then extracting the internal parts with any 
sharp instrument ; it should then be dried and cemented 
together, after being well anointed with the preservative. In 
crabs, the body with all the limbs attached, is pulled separate 
from the back shell, and the whole fleshy matter carefully 
picked out, and presei-ving powder and the solution of corro- 
sive subhmate appHed to the different internal parts. In dry- 
ing lobsters, crabs, <tec., they should be exposed to a free 
current of air, but not to the sun's rays, as it reddens tke 
shells of crustaceous animals. 



728 ' THE HOME MECHANIC. 

It need hardly be mention ea, that before applying the pre* 
Bervatives, the shells should be well washed with cold water. 

The hermit crab always takes possession of the shell of some 
t'-irbinated uuivalye as its domicile. These are easily preserved 
by pulling out the animal after it is dead. An incision is made 
in the soft tail of the animal, and the contents allowed to run 
oif ; it is then filled with cotton and imbued with the jjreser- 
vative, some cement is then put on the tail, and the animal 
returned to its shell, which completes the operation of preser- 
ving. 

In sending home crustaceous animals, the larger species 
should be emptied of their fleshy matter, which, however, is 
not necessary with the smaller species ; they should be packed 
in middling-sized cases, and each wrapped in separate papers, 
with a thick bed of cotton or flax between each. In lobsters, 
and the species which are allied to them, care must be exercis- 
ed in preserving the tentacula or feelers which emanate from 
their heads, as these become very brittle after drying. When 
setting up specimens which have been sent home, they should 
be immersed in cold water for some time, to give pliability tc 
tlie tentacula and other parts, without which it will be impos- 
sible to set them up in any way without their breaking. 

Mr. Bullock recommended that crabs and all other crusta- 
ceous animals should be immersed in corrosive sublimate and 
water for an hour previous to their being put into attitudes. 

When the joints become loose they are generally attached 
by glue, but the cement is much better. 

N. B. — On no account whatever use warm water in cleaning 
crustaceous animals as it is certain to change their colors. 

SEEPENTS EST GENEEAX.. 

Skinioing. — In skinning serpents there is some nicety re- 
quired, to cut them so as not to disfigure the scales ; the 
opening should be made in the side, commencing at the 
termination of the scales ; and they should on no account be 
divided, as upon their number the species is mostly deter- 
mined. 

It is a very frequent practice to send home serpents without 
the head, which renders them- quite unfit for any scientific 
purpose. This proceeds from the fear of receiving poison 
from the fangs. But there is not the slightest danger of being 
afiected, as these can easily be cut out by means of pincers. 
The head should be cleaned and the brain removed, in the 
same manner as recommended for birds and quadrupeds, the 
skull anointed and> then returned into the skin. 

When the skin is removed, it may be roUed up and packed 
in a small space. The simplest way to preserve small species 
is to pat them in spirits, which must not be too strong, as it 
will destroy the colors. [See department of Eecipes.] 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 729 

Stuffing. — The skin, if not recent, must be first softened 
in the manner recommended for birds, page 44. A piece of 
wire is taken the length of the animal, which must be wrap- 
ped round with tow till it is of a proper thickness, and above 
the whole, a spu-al band or sliver should be carefully wrapped. 
It is then placed inside of the skin, and sewed up. The eyes 
are placed in, as directed for quadrupeds and birds. When, 
dry give the serpent a coat of varnish, and then twist it into 
any attitude wished. A favorite and striking one is to have 
it wound round some animal, and in the act of kiUing it. 

A simple but rather rough way of skinning a snake, where 
there are no scales, is the following : Open the mouth and 
separate the skull from the vertebral column, detaching all 




Fig. 58. — Ser^enfs Head Prepared for Skinning. 

surrounding muscles adherent to the skin. Next, tie a string 
around the stump of the neck thus exposed (fig. 58) and, hold- 
ing on by this, strip the skin down to the extremity of the 
tail. The skin thus inverted should be restored to its pro- 
per state, and then put in spirit or stuffed, as convenient. 

FEOGS AND TOADS. 

Skinning. — The mouth is opened, and the first vertebra of 
the neck is cut. The whole inside of the mouth is cut out 
with scissors. The two jaws are next raised up, and the skin 
is pushed back with the fingers of the right hand ; while the 
body is drawn back in a contrary direction with the other 
hand, and the whole body is then drawn out at the mouth. 
The legs are then retiu'ned to their proper place. 

Lampreys, eels, and fish of similar form, may be skinned in 
the same manner as are frogs and toads, by drawing the body 
through the mouth. 

Stuffing. — The simplest method of stuffing frogs and toads 
is with sand. A small funnel is placed into the mouth, and 
well-dried sand poured in. When full, a small piece of cotton 
is pushed into the thror^t. with some of the cement, to keep 
the sand from escaping' on moving the auimal, 



730 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

The frog is then placed on a board, and in an attitude. 
When quite dry, give it a coat of varnish. When this haa 
perfectly dried, very small preforations are made under the 
belly with the point of a needle, and the sand allowed to 
escape, leaving the body of its natural form. 

These animals are liable to change of color from drying 
and should, therefore, be painted with the varnish to their 
natural hues. There is less difficulty with toads in this re 
spect, as they are usually of a brown color, and not liable to 
much change. They may be perfectly preserved in spirits. 

Mr. Burchell, in his four years' journey through Africa, 
glued the skins of the smaller serpents perfectly flat on paper, 
which preserved the size of the animal, and the skin retained 
aU the beauty of life. 

OEOOODILES AND LIZARDS IN GENERAL. 

Skinning. — ^All this tribe are skinned in the same manner 
as quadrupeds. Oare is, however, required in skinning the 
tails of the smaller species, as they are very liable to break. 
The skin being of a dry nature requires but little of the pre- 
servative. After they are thoroughly dried they will keep a 
very long time without decay. 

Stufting. — Stuff them as directed for quadrupeds. They 
admit of but little variety of attitude. The sma!l species are 
apt to change color in drying ; the color should be restored 
■'nth the colored varnishes, and afterward dimmed with sand 
paper. To keep them in their natural colors, they should be 
preserved in spirits. The skins of such as are glossy should 
be varnished after they are perfectly dry. 

TORTOISES AND TURTLES. 

Skinning. — The first operation is to separate the back an*l 
breast shells with a strong short knife, or chisel. If the forf e 
of the hand is inadequate, a mallet may be used, taking ca e 
not to strike so hard as to crack the shell. 

These two bony plates being covered by the skin, or by 
scales, the scapula, and all the muscles of the arm and neck, 
in place of being attached to the ribs and spine, are placed 
below, from which cause the tortoise has been termed a re- 
troverted animal. The vertebral extremity of the scapula is 
articulated with the shield, and the opposite extremity of 
the clavicle with the breast-plate, in such a manner that the 
shoulders form a ring for the passage of the trachea and 
oesophagus. 

After the turtle is opened, all the flesh which adheres to 
the breast-plate, and also to the upper shell, is removed, 
while attention is paid to the parts as above described. The 
head, fore-feet, and tail are skinned as in quadrupeds ; but 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 731 

none of these must be removed from the upper shell, but left 
attached. 

All these fleshy parts being removed, the shells are washed 
out with a sponge, and carefully dried. They are then slightly 
rubbed with the arsenical soap. 

Stuffing. — Wires are now passed through the middle of the 
legs, after the skin has been rubbed witli the preservative. 
The skull is returned to its place, and the whole of the head, 
QGck, and legs stuffed with chopped flax or tow. The paiis 
oi the skin J which have been cut, are then sewed together. 
The back and breast plates are then united by four small holes, 
being bored at their edges, and united by strings or small 
wires. The junction of the bones may then bo attached with 
the cement, colored so as to correspond with the shell. 

If the calipash is dirty, it may be cleaned with a slight 
solution of nitric acid and water ; afterward clean washed, 
oiled, and then rubbed hard with a woolen rag, to give it a 
polish. 

SHELLS, &o. 

Cuttle-fish, and all other mulluscous animals, can only be 
preserved in spirits. The same observation applies to the 
animals which inhabit that numerous tribe called testaceous 
shells. They must be detached from the shells, and put into 
spirits, while the shells themselves must be preserved, inde- 
pendent of the animal. 

Shells naturally arrange themselves under three distinct 
heads ; marine, land, and fresh water. 

Marine shells are only to be expected perfect, when pro- 
cured in a living state. The way to extract the animal, is to 
pour in some warm water on it ; but, if made too hot, it is 
liable to crack the shells. When the animals are dead, they 
can easily be pulled out with any hooked instrument, or fork, 
or, if' the animal is small, by a common pin. This appHes to 
all marine shells, whether univalve, bivalve, or tubular. It is 
of great consequence to preserve the ligament of bivalve 
shells entire, so that the valves may not be separated. The 
animals of land and fresh-water shells are killed by the same 
means, only that the water requires to be very hot. 

Unless the shells are covered with any extraneous matter, 
it is not necessary to clean them. Marine shells are, however, 
very liable to be incrusted with other marioe bodies, particu- 
larly with S-rpvla and Balmi, &c. These must be started ofl 
by means of a sharp instrument : an engraving tool is well 
adapted for this purpose. This must be done with great 
caution, in species which have spines and other excrescences, 
as they are very liable to be broken. Should any of ILe cal- 
careous matter still adhere, this must be removed, by apply- 
ing to it a very weak mixtui-e of muriatic acid and water, ap 



732 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

plied ■with the point of a quill, and then plunged into water, 
and allowed to remain till the acid is quite extracted. But on 
no account whatever, attempt to eradicate these parasitic 
bodies by means of acid, or acid and water, alone, as the 
chances are that the shell will be completely destroyed by 
their appUcation. We have seer many fine and valuable 
shells destroyed by an injudicious application of acids — the;y 
should never be used when it can possibly be avoided. We 
have, on the other hand, seen shells which were so completely 
enveloped in calcareous crust, that it was impossible to trace 
their external surface, most thoroughly cleared of all this, 
without being touciied at all by acids, the whole being re- 
moved by a small knife or other sharp instrument ; and 
tkese, in many cases, having long and tender spines ex- 
ternally. 

Nothing can be more monstrous than the application of 
pumice-stone, which some recommend, for polishing shells ; 
as is also the use of tripoU, rotten-stone and emery. Neither 
do we approve the application of varnishes, as such shells 
never have their natural luster. 

If a shell has been found dead upon the beach, it is probable 
that it will have undergone a certain degree of decomposition, 
that is, it will have parted with some of its animal matter, and 
consequently the colors will have faded, and the surface pre- 
sent a chalky appearance. To remove this, take a small 
portion of sweet oil and apply it to the surface, when the 
colors which are invisible will appear. When completely 
saturated with oil, let the shell be rubbed dry, and placed in 
a cabinet. Oil may also be applied after acid has been used, 
and it will be found extremely useful, when appUed to diy the 
epidermis, which it will prevent from cracki g, or quitting the 
shell entirely, which it frequently does. 

Whether marine shells are procured in a living" or dead 

state, a very necessary precaution is to immerse them ^n pure 

tepid water, after the animal has been extracted, and How 

rhem to c ontinue in it for an hour or two, so as completely to 

xtract any salt or acid which may be in them. 

Fresh- water shells are liable to a calcareous or earthy in- 
crustation, which must be removed by immersing them in warm 
•vater, and afterward scraping and brushing them with a nail- 
orush or tooth-brush. Much nicety is necessary in cleaning 
these, as their thinness renders them in general liable to be 
broken. A little sweet oil will improve the appearance of the 
epideimis, and render it less liable to crack. 

Land shells seldom require any cleaning, except washing in 
water, as they are not liable to incrustations of any kind. 

When shells are perforated by marine animals or otherwise 
broken, if the specimen is rare, it is desirable to remedy these 
defects as far as possible. They may be therefore filled up, 



THE HOME MECriAXIC. 733 

or pieces added to them with the cement, which may hj color- 
ed when dry to imitate its original state, 

OF POLISHING SHELLS. 

Many species of marine and fresh- water shells are composed 
of mother-of-pearl, generally covered with a strong epidermis. 
When it is wished to exhibit the external stmctiu'e of the 
shells, the epidermis is removed, and the outer testaceous 
3oating poHshed down, till the pearlaceous structure becomes 
visible. It has been a common practice to remove the strong 
epidermis of shells by means of strong acids, but this is a 
hazardous and tedious mode of operating. The best method 
is to put the shells into a pan of cold water, with a quantity of 
quicklime, and boil it from two to four hours, according to the 
thickness of the ei)idermis. The shells afterward must be 
gradually cooled, and some strong acid applied to the epider- 
mis, when it will easily peel off. Two hours are sufficient for 
the common muscle being boiled. Th4r shells are afterward 
poHshed with rotten-stone and oil, put on a piece of chamois 
leather. 

The epidermis of the Unio margariii/era is so thick, that it 
requires from four to five hours boUing. After the epidermis 
has been removed, there is beneath it a thick layer of dull 
calcareous matter, which must be started off with a knife or 
other sharp instrument ; this requires great labor, but when 
accomplished a fine mother-of-pearl is exhibited, which adds 
an agreeable variety as a specimen. 

Various Turbos and Trochus are also deprived of their 
epidermis, and polished with files, sand-paper, pumice-stone, 
&c. , till the pearly appearance is obtained ; but all these modes 
are invented for disfiguring rather than improving the shells 
in the eye of the naturalist, and should never be resorted to 
except where the species is very common, ia wtich case it is 
well enough to do so with one or two specimens to show the 
structure of the shells. 

After the operation of polishing and washing with acids, a 
little sweet oil should be rubbed over to bring out the colore 
aTid destroy the influence of the acid. 




734 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

PART SIXTH. 

Tk« Collection and Preservation of SpidenM Inseetai 



OF SPIDERS. 

ri'lHE class Arachnides includes all animals of the spidei 

i kind. These were formerly arranged among insects, 
but have been formed into a separate class by Lamarck. 
The general instructions which we shall give regarding insects 
^vdll apply to spiders, but there will be additional care required 
in regard to the bodies, a spider's bod^ being very difficult to 
preserve, from its Kability to shrink into a shapeless mass. 
To prevent this, the body should be pricked with the triangular 
awl, fig. 18, and the contents pressed out ; it should then be 
stuffed with very fine carded cotton or down, which can be 
pushed in by a heckle tooth, or bodkin or probing-needle, figs. 
19 and 20, blunted a little at the point. When properly dis- 
tended, the small aperture should be filled with a little cement, 
or a solution of gum-arabic. The legs of the larger species, 
such as the bird-catching mygale (^Mygale avicularia) and the 
scorpions, are also liable to shrink, and should be stuffed in 
the same manner as that of the body. 

In those species of spiders which we have thus prepared, 
and whose colors are rich and likely to be affected by the 
action of the atmosphere, we must endeavor to arrest its pro- 
gress by immediately imbuing the animal after it is set up 
with the solution of corrosive subHmate, and in an hour after 
with a thin coating of a very weak white-spirit varnish ; for this 
purpose, take a teaspoonful of the ordinaiy white-spirit or 
elastic varnish, and add to it two spoonfuls of spirit-of-wine, 
apply this with a fine camel-hair brush, which will quickly 
dry, and have a strong tendency to preserve the color. The 
varnish being thus reduced in strength, will not leave any 
gloss on the insect, nor will it be at all perceptible. 

Mr. Samouelle, author of The Entomologist's Useful Com- 
pendiuniy in speaking of preserving spiders, says : ' ' The best 
preserved specimens that I have seen are those where the con- 
tents of the abdomen have been taken out and filled with 
fine sand. I have preserved several in this way, and find it 
to answer the purpose. " 

Mr. Donovan, author of Tlie History of British Insects, and 
many other splendid and useful books on insects and natural 
history, makes the following observations on the preservation 
of spiders : * * To determine whether some species of spiders 
eoQld be preserved with then' natural colors, I put several into 

78 



TH!'] HOME MECHANIC. 735 

epirits-of-wine ; those with gibbous bodies soon after dis- 
charged a very considerable quantity of viscid matter, and 
therewith all their beautiful colors ; the smallest retained 
their form, and only appeared rather paler in the other colors 
than when they were living. 

"During the course of last summer, among other spiders I 
met with a rare species ; it was of a bright yellow color, ele- 
gantly marked with black, red, greeu, and purple ; by some 
accident it was unfortunately crushed to pieces in the chip- 
box wherein it was confined, and was therefore thrown aside 
as useless ; a month or more after that time I observed that 
such parts of the skin as had dried against the inside of the 
box, retained the original brightness of color in a considerable 
degree. To experiment further, I made a similar attempt, 
with some caution, on the body of another spider {Araiiea 
diadema), and though the colors were not perfectly preserved, 
they appeared distinct. 

*' From other observations, I find, that if you kill the spider 
and immediately after extract the entrails, then infiate them 
by means of a blowpipe, you may preserve them tolerably 
well : you must cleanse them on the inside no more than is 
sufficient to prevent moldiness, lest you injure the colors, 
which certainly in many kinds depend on the substance that 
lies beneath the skin. " 

Scorpions, and all the spider tribe, may be sent home in 
spirits, which will preserve them perfectly, and when taken 
out and dried, they will be found to have snfiered nothing 
from their immersion . We have seen some specimens set up 
after being sent home in spirits, which rivaled any which 
have been preserved in a recent state. The animals of this 
class are particularly liable to the attacks of insects, particu- 
larly in warm countries, on which account, the mode of 
transporting and keeping them in spirits, is, perhaps, superior 
to all others. If, however, they are set up in a warm climate, 
tiiey should be well soaked with the solution of corrosive sub- 
limate, made according to the recipe of Mr. Waterton. [See 
chapter of Recipes.] 

For the setting up of this class see the directions for pre- 
serving insects. 

MYBIAPODA. 

The mode, pointed out for the preceding class, and for 

insects, also applies to the class Myriapoda, containing gaily 
worms, the Scolopendra, and others, which were formerly 
ranked as insects. They may also be sent home in the same 
way, or they may be set up as directed for insects. 

OF COLLECTING INSECTS. 
Preparatory to collecting insects, certain apparatus. must b« 



736 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

provided, not only to enable us to secure them, but also to 
preserve them after they are caught. First, we must be pro- 
vided with a quiintity of wooden boxes, from 18 to 20 inches 
long, 15 to 17 inches wide, and two inches deep. These 
should have well-fitted lids, with hinges, and fastened by a 
wire catch, or small bolt. The bottom should have a layer of 
cork, about the sixth of an inch in thickness, which should 
be fixed down with very strong paste made according to 
our recipe ; and also some wire nails, to prevent it from 
springing. Over the cork should be pasted white paper. 
The box should be anointed inside with oil of petroleum. If 
that cannot be procured, make an infusion of strong aromatic 
plants, such as cinnamon, aloes, thyme, laurel, sage, rosemary, 
or cloves, and wash the inside with it. A small packet of cam- 
phor should be wrapped in a piece of rag and deposited in a 
corner of the box. 

We must also be provided with a quantity of insect pins, of 
different sizes, corresponding with the size of the insect. 
The pins used for setting should be longer than those which 
are taken to the field. 

Bottles, with mouths from an inch and a quarter to two 
inches in diameter, must also be procured, and these must be 
three-fourths full of spirits, such as weak brandy, rum, gin or 
whisky. 

Hunting Box. — We must besides have what is termed a 
hunting box, for carrying in our pocket, when seeking after 
insects. This should be made of strong pasteboard, or chip, 
for Hghtness, or, if this is no consideration, of tin. It must 
be of an oblong-oval shape, rounded at the ends, for the 
convenience of the pocket. It should be from eighi ^o ten 
inches long, four to five inches wide, and two and a half to 
three inches deep. It must have a layer of cork both in the 
bottom and top of the lid inside, for attaching insects to, when 
caught during the day. The larger insects are placed at the 
bottom, and the smaller ones on the lid. 

The Entomological Net. — ^We next procure a net, fig. 58, 
constructed similar to a bat-fowling net. This is either made 
of fine gauze or coarse muslin ; it may either be green or 
white — the latter is the best for observing small insects which 
may be caught ; the green, however, is better adapted for 
catching moths. The net-rods should be made of hickory or 
beech ; they ought to be five feet in length, quite round, 
smooth, and tapering to an obtuse point, as at fig. 59 ; the 
oblique cross-piece at the point fig. a, should be of cane, and 
fitted into the angular ferrule ; the rod, marked b, must be 
divided into three or four pieces, so that it may be taken 
asunder and carried in the pocket ; the upper part of each joint 
must have a ferrule affixed to it, for the purpose of articulating 
the other pieces, d. Each joint should have a notoh or chec](. 
QkS marked at c to prevont the rod from twisting. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



737 




Figs. 58 to 7^. — Articles Used in the Collection and Preservation 

of Insects. 



738 THE HOME MECJHANIC. 

The net itself, fig. 58, must have a weltiTig all ronnd it, 
doubled so as to form a groove for the reception of the rods. 
In the center of the upper part or point, at /", it must have a 
small piece of chamois leather, so as to form a kind of hinge ; 
this must be bound round the welting, and divided in the 
middle, so as to prevent the cross pieces from slipping over 
each other ; p, shows about four inches of the gauze turned 
up, BO as to form a bag ; h, A, are strings for the purpose of 
passing through the staple e, to which the net is firmly drawn 
on each side. When the net is used, a handle is to be held in 
each hand. 

If it is intended to take insects on the wing, by means of 
this net, for which it is admirably adapted, it may be folded 
together in an instant. If the gauze is fine enough, and pre- 
served whole, even the smallest insect cannot escape. It 
may be also apphed in catching coleopterous insects, which 
are never on the wing, as well as caterpillars. When used for 
this purpose, the entomologist must hold it expanded under 
trees, while another must beat the branches with a stick. 
Great numbers of both insects and larva9 will fall in the gauxe, 
and by this means many hundreds may be captured in a day. 

Another method is to spread a large table-cloth under trees 
and bushes, and then beat them with a stick. An umbrella 
reversed has frequently been used for the same purpose. 
Bosc, the celebrated naturalist, used this last method, he held 
the umbrella in the left hand, while he beat the bushes 
with the other. 

The Hoop or Aquatic Net, fig. 60. — This net is used for 
capturing aquatic insects, which are either lurking at the 
bottom, swimming through the liquid elemenlj, or adhering 
to plants. It may also be successfully used in sweeping 
among grass and low herbage, for coleopterous insects, and 
others which are generally to be found in such situations. 
The socket, for the handle, may be made of such dimensions, 
as will answer the second joint of the entomological net-rod, 
which will save carrying another handle ; or a walking-stick 
may be made to fit it. 

Phiaiy fig. 61. — This may either be made of tin or glass, 
and used for collecting coleopterous and other creeping in- 
insects. The mouth should be nearly an inch wide, and a 
cork exactly fitted to it, ia the center of which must be 
inserted a small quill, to afford air, and inserted about an 
inch beyond the cork, to prevent the insects from escaping. 
IJ the bottle is made of tin, and of a larger size, a tin tube 
must be introduced into its side, and terminating externally 
at the suface. 

Digger, fig. 62. — This instrument is either made of iron or 
steel, and is about six or seven inches in length, fixed into a 
turned wooden handle. It is used for collecting the pupae 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 739 

of lepidopterous insects, at the roots anrl in the clefts of the 
bark of trees ; and also for pulHng off the bark, particularly 
from decayed trees, under which many curious and rare insects 
axe frequently found. It is most useful with an arrow-headed 
point. 

Setting Needles^ fig. 63. — ^Fitted into a small wooden handle, 
the needle itself should be about three inches long, and about 
the thickness of a small darning-needle, shghtly bent from 
obc it the middle. Fig. 64, is a straight needle, which is used 
fur extending the parts of insects ; at one end of the handle 
is the needle, and at the other a camel-hair pencil, which is 
used for removing any dirt or dust which may be on the 
insects. The pencil may be occasionally drawn through the 
Hps, brought to a fine point, and used for disposing the 
antennae and palpi of insects of the minute kinds. 

Brass Pliei'S, fig. 65. — These are used for picking up small 
msects from the roots of gTass, &c. They may also be used 
for laying hold of small insects, while they are yet free and 
Qot set up. 

Quills. — These are of great use in carrying minute insects. 
They should be neatly stopped with cork and cement, at one 
end ; the other end should be provided with a small movable 
cork, for a stopper. Each end should be wrapped carefully 
round with a silk thread waxed, to prevent them from splitting. 

Pocket Larvce-Box. — For collecting caterpillars, this box 
is very essential : it consists merely of a chip-box, with a hole 
pierced in the center of the top and bottom, and covered with 
gauze, for the admission of air. It will be necessaiy to put 
into the box some of the leaves on which the larvae feed, as 
they are very voracious, and cannot long exist without food. 

Pill-Boxes. — No entomologist should be without five or six 
dozen of these useful articles. They are of gTeat value in 
collecting the smaller species of lepidopterous insects such as 
the tinea, &c. , and only one specimen should be put in each 
box, as, if more than one, they are apt to injure each other's 
wings, by beating against each other. 

Setting-Boards. — These must be made of deal boards, from 
A foot to fifteen inches long, and eight or ten inches broad, 
with a piece of wood run across the ends, to prevent them 
from warping. They are covered with cork, which must be 
perfectly smooth on the surface, with white paper pasted 
over it. Several boards will be required, by persons who are 
making collections, as some of the insects take a considerable 
time to dry, so that they may be fit for introducing into a 
cabinet. 

The boards should be kept in a frame made for the purpose. 
It should consist of a to^D, bottom, and two sides ; the back 
and front should have the frames of doors, attached by small 
hinges, and their centers covered with fine gauze, for the free 



740 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



passage of air ; the sides should have smah jjieces of wood 
projecting from them, for the boards to rest on ; which should 
be at sucb a distance from each other, that the pins may not 
be displaced, in pushing the boards in, or drawing them out. 
The frame should be placed in a dry airy situation. 

Braces. — These are merely small pieces of card, cut m the 
form illustrated by fig. 66. They are pinned down on the 
insects, to keep their wings, &c. , in a proper state, till they 
acquire a set, as shown m the insects extended at the bottom 
of page 81, figs. 67, 68, 69 and 73. 

Fan Forceps, fig. 74. — This very useful instrument to the 
entomologist, must be made of steel or iron, and 
about eight or ten inches in length ; its general 
construction is like that of a pair of scissors, and 
it is held and used in the same manner. Toward 
the points are formed a pair of fans, or hoops, 
which may either be square, oval, hexagonal, or 
octagonal in the edges, and the centers covered 
with fine gauze. The general size of the fans is 
from four to six inches . These are used for cajD- 
turing bees, wasps, and Muscce. They are also 
used for catching butterflies, moths, sphinxes. 
If an insect is on a leaf, both leaf and insect may 
be inclosed within the fans ; or if they are on a 
wall or the trunk of a tree, they may be very 
easily secured by them. 

If a butterfly, sphinx, or moth, is captured 
by the foreceps, while yet between the fans, 
it should be pressed pretty smoothly, with the 
thumb-nail, on the thorax or body, taking care, 
-J^an jjowever, not to crush it. It may then be taken 
into the hand, and a pin j)assed through the 
thorax, and then stuck into the bottom of your hunting-box. 




Fig. 74.- 
Forceps. 



SETTING AND PEESEKVING INSECTS. 

Insects of the orders Coleoptera, Orilwptera, and Hemipiera 
are very easily preserved. They may all be speedily killed 
without injury, by immersing in scalding water ; they should 
then be laid upon soft blotting-paper, for the purpose of 
absorbing as much of the moisture as possible ; or they may 
be placed in a tin box, with a little camphor in it, near the 
fire, which soon kills them. This is besides of considerable 
effect in their preservation. 

Insects of the cricket and locust kind have tender bodies, 
and are sure to shrivel in drying. The intestines should 
therefore be extracted, while they are yet moist, and the skin 
filled with cotton. 

When coleopterous insects are set with the wings displayed, 
the elytra should be separated, and the pin passed through 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 741 

their body, near the middle of the thorax, as in fig. 67. The 
wings are exhibited as in the act of flying, and are retained in 
this situation until they are qaite dry, by the card braces, a. 
The insects of this order should always have a pin passed 
through the right elytra, on the right side, as shown at fig. 07, 
a : that is, it should pass underneath, between the first pair 
of feet and the intermediate ones. 

The legs, palpi and antennae, should be displayed in a 
natural order on the setting-board, and retained in the posi- 
tion by means of pins and braces, as shown in figs. 67 and 68. 
These must be kept in that state, either longer or shorter, 
according to the insect and state of the weather, as if placed 
in a cabinet before they are quite djy, they are sure to get 
moldy, and wiU ultimately rot. 

Minute insects should be attached to cards with gum, as 
shown in figs. 69 and 70, with legs and other organs displayed. 
Entomologists generally adopt triangular cards, as at fig. 66, 
as less liable to hide the parts of the insects. 

MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 

When the large moths must be killed, destroy them at once 
by the insertion of a strong, red-hot needle into their thickest 
parts, beginning at the front of the thorax. If this be pro- 
perly done, instead of lingering through several days, they 
are dead in a moment. 

Butterflies are soon killed by passing a pin through the 
thorax ; but probably the safest way is to use the red-hot 
needle. The pin passed through the thorax of small moths, 
generally proves almost instantly fatal to them. 

The best manner of preserving the minute species of moths, 
is by pill-boxes, as above stated, each moth being kept in a 
separate box. The best method of destroying them is this : 
A piece of flat hard wood is taken, and a circiilar groove cut 
in it, sufficiently deep to admit the mouth of a tumbler being 
placed within it. In the center of the wood, pierce a hole 
about a third of an inch in diameter in its center ; place the 
piE-box under this tumbler, with the Hd off, and the insect 
will soon creep out ; but whether it does so or not, a match 
well primed with sulphur is lighted and placed into the hole 
under the center of the tumbler, which will suffocate the 
insect in a few seconds. I have also found this an effectual 
method of killing the larger species of butterflies, and moths. 
In piercing them, the pin should be quite perpendicular, that 
no part of their minute frame should be hidden by its obHque 
position. 

The larger insects of this order are set by braces chiefly. 
A single one should in the first place be introduced under tlie 
wing, near the thorax, as shown in fig. 71, and a longer brace 
extending Dver the wings, as at 6, b. Th?se should not bear 



742 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



upon the wings, but be ready to rest gently on them, whei 
required. The wings are now elevated to their proper 
position by the setting-needle c, and other braces are used 
as necessity dictates, in the manner represented at rf, «,/, g, 
and h. The feet and antennae are extended and kept in their 
places by means of pins ; in which operation small braces are 
also occasionally used. 

The French entomologists set butterflies, moths, and 
si^hinxes, on a piece of soft wood, in which they have ex- 
cavated a groove for the reception of the body, as deep as tho 
insertion of the wings. They are otherwise preserved as 
above directed. 

In the larger butterfr^es, moths, and sphinxes, the abdomen 
should be perforated, its contents extracted, and then stuffed 
with fine cotton, after having been washed internally with the 
solution of corrosive sublimate. Indeed, the cotton should 
also be rubbed with the arsenical soap before being introduc- 
ed, as these insects are particularly liable to the attack of 
smaller insects, such as the mite. 

Several of the moth tribe are extremely Hable to change 
their color sometime after they have been placed in a cabinet. 
This change is frequently occasioned by an oily matter which 
is common to many of them. This first makes its appearance 
in small spots on the body, but soon spreads itself over the 
abdomen, thorax, and wings ; and ends in a total obUteration 
of all the beautiful markings. A method which has been 
sometimes successfully adopted is to sprinkle all the wings 
with powdered chalk, and holding a heated iron over it ; the 
chalk absorbs the grease, and may then be blown off by means 
of a pair of small bellows. Another way of applying the chalk, 
and perhaps the better of the two, is to throw some powdered 
chalk on the face of a heated iron, and then put it into a piece 
of linen cloth, and apply it to the body of the insect ; the 
heat of the iron will soften the grease, and the chalk will 
absorb it. Another way is to hold a heated iron for a few min- 
utes over the insect, and then to wash the spotted or grea-sy 
places with ox-gall dissolved in water, apphed with a camel-hair 
pencil, and afterward wash it with pure water, and dry it by 
the application of hotting -paper, and when perfectly dry 
imbue it with the soln^tion of corrosive sublimate. But grease 
seldom appears where the contents of the abdomen have been 
r^noved. 

DRAGON-FLIES, &o. 

Dragon-flies are often difficult to kill, being powerful and 
nervous animals. When caught they should be transfixed 
through the sides, and it sometimes becomes necessary to put 
braces on their wings to prevent them from fluttering while in 
the hunting-box. The only certain method of killing them 
epeedily is by the hot needle. They may also be kilied some- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 748 

times by placing tlaem under a tumbler and suffocating them 
with vapor of tobacco or sulphur. Some entomologists put 
them in scalding water for an instant, and sdme with whisky 
or alcohol. 

The contents of the abdomen should always be removed 
from dragon-flies, otherwise it will become black and shining 
through the skin, and destroy the beautiful bands with which 
they are ornamented. They can be stuffed with cotton os a 
small roll of paper introduced. If these precautions are 
attended to, the insect will preserve the perfect beauty of its 
living state. 

The other species of the orders Neuroptera, Hymenopteraf and 
Diptera, soon die after being transfixed. Tliey may be set by 
braces and pins, as represented in figs. 67, 68 and 71. 

Some two-winged insects are very perishable in point of 
color after death, particularly in the abdomen, the skin of 
which is very thin. The only way of remedying this is to 
pierce the abdomen, and after taking out the contents the 
cavity it should be filled with powdered paint the same color 
as thehving subjects, which will shine through and give it all 
the appearance of nature. 

METHOD OF RELAXING DRIED INSECTS. 

Insects frequently get stiffened before the entomologist has 
leisure to get them set ; and it usually happens that those 
sent home from foreign countries have been ill set, and re- 
quire to be placed in more appropriate attitudes after they 
have fallen into the hands of the scientific collector. They 
may be relaxed and made as flexible as recently killed speci- 
mens by the following simple process, from which they can 
receive no injury : Pin them on a piece of cork and place the 
cork in a large basin or pan of tepid water, and cover the top 
tight with a damp cloth, taking cjire that it is sufficiently hi^ 
not to injure the insects. • In most cases a few hours is suffi- 
cient to restore them to their original flexibility, so that they 
may be easily put in their proper positions. In some in- 
stances, three or four days are necessary to relax them 
tlioroughly, so as to set the wings without the risk of break- 
ing them ; no force whatever must be used with any of the 
members. When set up after being relaxed, they must be 
treated in exactly the same manner as recent specimens. 

We must again caution the entomologist to be careful that 
he appHes the solution of corrosive sublimate to all his 
specimens, otherwise there is Uttle chance of their continuing 
long without being attacked by the mite ; they ought to be 
frequently imbued. 

Mr. Waterton, who has studied deeply the subject of pre- 
serving animal substances, and applied them not alone in 
Great Britain, but under the influence of a tropical cUmate. 



744 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

makes tlie following observations upon the preservation ol 
insects : "I only know of two methods." says he, "to guard 
preserved insects from tho depredations of living ones. The 
&:st is, by poisoning the atmosphere — the second is, by 
poisoning the prepared specimens themselves, so effectually, 
that they are no longer food for the depredators. But there 
are some objections to both these modes ; a poisoned atmos- 
phere will evaporate in time if not attended t/:, or if neglected 
to be renewed ; and there is a great difficulty in poisoning 
some specimens on account of their delicacy and minuteness. 
If you keep spirits of turpentine in the boxes which contain 
your preserved specimens, I am of opinion that those speci- 
mens will be safe as long as the odor of the turpentine re- 
mains in the box, for it is said to be the most pernicious of all 
scents to insects. But it requires attention to keep up an 
atmosphere of spirits of turpentine ; if it be allowed to evapor- 
ate entirely, then there is a clear and undisputed path open 
to the inroads of the enemy ; he will take advantage of your 
absence or neglect, and when you return to view your trea- 
sure you will hnd it in ruins. Spirits of turpentine poured 
into a common glass inkstand, in which there is a piece of 
sponge, and placed in a corner of your box, will create a 
poisoned atmosphere and kill every insect. The poisoning of 
your specimens by means of corrosive sublimate in alcohol, 
is a most effectual method. As soon as the operation is pro- 
perly performed, the depredating insect perceives that the 
prepared specimen is no longer food for it, and will for ever 
cease to attack it ; but then every part must have received 
the poison, otherwise those parts where the poison has not 
reached will still be exposed to the enemy, and he will pass 
unhurt over the poisoned parts till he arrives at that part of 
your specimen which is. still wholesome food for him. Now, 
the difficulty lies in applying the solution to very minute 
specimens without injuring their appearance ; and all that 
can be said is, to recommend unwearied exertion." 

Mr. Waterton is of opinion, that tight boxes, with aromatio 
atxnospheres, are not to be depended upon, in the preserva- 
tion of insects. He says : " The tight boxes, and aromatic 
atmospheres, will certainly do a great deal, but they are liable 
to fail, for this obvious reason, viz., that they do not render 
forever absolutely baneful and abhorrent to the depredator, 
that which in itself is nutritious and grateful to him. In an 
evil hour, through neglect in keeping up a poisoned atmos- 
phere, the specimens collected by indastry, and prepared by 
art, and which ought to live, as it were, for the admiration of 
future ages, may fall a prey to an intruding and almost invi- 
sible ensmy ; so that unless the solution of corrosive subli- 
mate in alcohol is applied, you are never perfectly safe from 
surprise ; I have tried a decoction of aloes, wormwood, and 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 745 

walnut leaves, thinkiug they would be of service, on account 
of their bitterness ; the trial completely failed." 

Many entomologists are satisfied with possessing the insect 
in its perfect, or imago condition. But it is exceedingly in- 
teresting to be able to trace these through their different 
stages of existence, from the egg to the perfect insect. Besides, 
we are certain to produce the insects in the highest state of 
perfection, when we breed them ourselves ; and it is, besides, 
very interesting to have the eggs of the dififerent species, as 
well as the caterpillar and piipa. 

THE EGGS OF INSECTS. 

The eggs of insects preserve their form and color in a 
cabinet, in general without much trouble. Swammerdam had 
a- method of preserving them, when they appeared to be 
giving way. He made a perforation within them, with a fine 
needle, pressed out their contents, afterward inflated them 
with a glass blowpipe, and filled them with a mixture of resin 
and oil of spike. 

THE LAKV^, OE CATERPILLAES. 

The easiest way of destroying the caterpillar is by immer- 
sion in spirits-of-wine. They may be retained for a long 
time in this spirit, without destroying their color. 

Mr. William Weatherhead had an ingenious mode of pre- 
serving larvae. He killed the caterpillar as above directed, 
and having made a small puncture in the tail, gently pressed 
out the contents of the abdomen, and then filled the skin 
with fine dry sand, and brought the animal to its natural cir- 
cumference. It is then exposed to the air to dry, and it will 
have become quite hard in the course of a few hours, after 
which the sand may be shaken out at the small aperture, 
and the caterpillar then gummed to a piece of card. 

Another method is, after the entrails are squeezed out, to 
insert into the aperture a glass tube, which has been drawn to 
a very fine point. The operator must blow through this pipe, 
while he keeps turning the skin slowly round, over a charcoal 
fixe ; the skin will soon become hardened, and after being 
anointed with oil of spike and resin, it may be placed in a 
cabinet, when dry. A small straw, or pipe of grass, may be 
substituted for the glass pipe. Some pc^rsons inject them 
with colored wax, after they are dried. 

THE PUPA. 

When the insects have escaped from their pupa skin, the 
skin usually retains the shape and general appearance it did 
while it contained the insect. It is therefore ready for a 
cabinet, without any preparation whatever. But if the animal 



746 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

has not quitted its envelope, it will be necessary, «ith3r to 
drop the pupa into warm water, or to heat it in a tin case 
before the fire ; the former mode however is the best, and 
least liable to change the colors of the pupa. 

METHOD OF BREEDING INSECTS. 

Breeding Cages. — These must be made of chestnut, oi 
any hard wood, as pine is apt to kill the caterpillars, foom 
its strong smell of turpentine. The best form for these, is 
represented in fig. 72. The sides and front are covered with 
gauze ; a, is a small square box, for the reception of a phial 
of water, for placing the stalks of plants in, which it is 
intended the caterpillars are to feed. The most convenient 
size for a breeding cage is, eight or ten inches in breadth, 
four deep, and one foot in hight. It is not proper to place 
within a cage more than one species of caterpillar, as many of 
them prey upon each other. Indeed animals of the same 
species will devour each other, if left without food. The 
caterpillars of insects, for the most part will only eat one par- 
ticular kind of food, so that it is better to have no more than 
one sort in a cage. 

There must be at the bottom of the cage earth to the depth 
of two inches ; this should be mixed with some fine sand and 
vegetable mold, if possible, to prevent it from drying. The 
cages should be kept in a cool cellar or damp place, because 
many insects change into the pupa condition under the earth ; 
BO that it would require to be somewhat moist, to prevent the 
destruction of the animaL The shell or case of the pupa also 
becomes hard, if the earth is not kept moist ; and, in that 
event the animal will not have sufficient strength to break its 
case, at the time it ought to emerge from its confinement and 
must consequently die, which but too frequently happens from 
mismanagement. 

Some seasons are more favorable than others for the pro- 
duction of caterpillars, and to keep each kind by themselves 
would require an immense number of cages, as well as occupy 
much time in changing the food, and paying due attention to 
them. To obviate tMs, some persons have large breeding 
cages, with a variety of food in them, which must be cleaned 
out every two days, and fresh leaves given to the caterpillars ; 
as, on due attention to feeding, the beauty and vigor of the 
coming insects will much dejpend. 

The larvae of insects, which feed beneath the surface of the 
earth, may be bred in the following manner : Let any box, 
that is about three or four feet square, and two or three feet 
deep, be lined internally with tin. and a number of very 
minute holes be bored thorough the sides and bottom. Put 
into this box a quantity of earth, replete with such vegetables 
as the caterpillars subsist on, and £>ink it into a bed of earth, 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 747 

BO tliat the surface may be exposed to the different changes of 
the wefitaer. The lid should be covered with brass or iron 
net-work, to prevent their escape, and for the free admission 
of air. 

Cabinet. — Such is the advanced state of entomological 
science, that a collection of British insects requires a cabinet 
of from 50 to 100 drawers, which are generally about fourteen 
or fifteen inches in length, eighteen in breadth, and about 
two inches deep. The bottoms.should be lined with cork, o 
about the sixth of an inch in thickness. It must be chosen as ' 
free from cracks and knots as possible. Each drawer must 
have a lid of glass, and an edge of wood very nicely fitted, so 
as to prevent, as much as possible, the admission of air or 
dust. This lid must rest on a rabbit. 

The young entomologist should obtain a cabinet of about 
thirty drawers, arranged in two tiers and covered in with 
folding doors. There is a great convenience in this size, as the 
cabinet is rendered more portable, and at the same time ad- 
mits of having another of the same size being i)laced above 
the top of it, as the collection increases, without injuring the 
uniformity, and thus the drawers may be augmented to any 
extent. It is immaterial whether the cabinet is made of ma- 
hogany or walnut ; sometimes they are constructed of cedar- 
wood, but seldom of pins, or any other soft wood. Small 
cells must be made in the inside of the fronts, for camphor. 

Corking of Drawers. — The simplest way to* get the cork is 
to purchase it of a cork-cutter, ready prepared, but it will be 
much cheaper for the entomologist to prepare it himseK. In 
this case, it should be cut into strips, of about three inches 
wide, with a cork-cutter's knife, to smooth the surface and to 
divide it. The strips should be fixed in a vise, and cut to the 
thickness required with a fine saw ; but grease must not be 
used in the operation, as it will not only prevent the cork from 
adhering to the bottom of the drawer, but will also grease the 
paper which should be pasted on its surface. The black surface 
of the cork should be rasped down to a smooth surface. After 
having reduced the slips to about three-quarters of an inch in 
thickness, the darkest, or worst, side of each slip should be 
glued down to a slieet of brown, or cartridge, paper ; this 
should be laid on a pine board, about three feet in length, 
and the width required for a drawer or box ; a few fine nails, 
or brads, must be driven through each piece of cork, to keep 
it fiimi an(J in its place, until the glue be dried : by this means 
sheets of cork may be formed the size of the drawer. All the 
irregularities are tiled or rasped down quite to a level surface, 
and then pohshed smooth with pumice-stone. The sheet, 
thus formed and finished, is glued into the drawers. To pre- 
vent its warping, some weights must be equally distributed 
over the cork, that it may adhere firmly to the bottom of the 
drawer. When quite dj^, the weights az^ removed, and thi 



748 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

cork covered with fine white paper, but not very thick. The 
paper is allowed to be quite damp vvith the paste before it is 
placed on the cork, and, when dry, it will become perfectly 
tight. 

Insect cabinets should be kept in a very dry situation, other- 
wise the antennsB, legs, &c., will become quite moldy. The 
same evil will ensue if the insect is not perfectly dry, before it 
is placed in the cabinet. Should an insect be covered with 
mold, it can be washed off with a camel-hair pencil, dippeu 
in camphorated spirits- of- wine ; in which case, the insect must 
be dried in a warm or airy situation, before being pla^jed in 
the cabinet. 

There should always be plenty of camphor kept, in the 
drawers, otherwise there is great danger to be apprehended 
from mites ; where these exist, they are easily discovered by 
the dust which is under the insects by which they are infested; 
in which case, they must be immediately taken out, and 
rubbed clean with a fine camel-hair pencil, and well imbued 
with the solution of corrosive sublimate, and then placed neaj 
a fire, taking care, however, that too great a heat is not ap- 
plied, as it will utterly destroy the specimen. The butterfly 
sphinx, and moth tribes are extremely liable to the attack of 
mites, and should therefore be frequently examined. 

Store Boxes. — The neatest manner. of constructing these, is 
to have them about a foot square, the top and bottom about 
two inches deep, on the same principle as backgammon 
boards, the inside being lined with cork. 

STAE-FISH. 

Those star-fish which have fragile crustaceous tentacnla, 
are difficult to preserve . They must first be immersed in fresh 
water for four or five hours, and then extended on a plank of 
soft wood ; the rays must be properly arranged, and pins used 
to 'keep them so, till they are quite dry. These are stuck into 
the plank, alongside the rays, and not into the rays them- 
selves. They must not, however, be placed near a fire, or in 
the rays of the sun, as in either case, they will have a tend- 
ency to change their colors. It is almost 'invariably found 
that all colors in the crustaceous coverings of animals become 
reddish by exposure to the heat of the sun or of a fire. 

The larger kinds should have the flesli cut out of the inside 
of the rays, and a little of the dry preservative applied to 
them. The species called medusa's-heads undergo the same 
pireparation as other star-fish, only that much caution is re- 
quired. 

When these are packed, they will require great attention. 
The larger kinds should be wrapped in fine and soft papei 
and the smaller ones packed between layers of cotton, as aU 
the parts are very brittle. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 749 



SEA-URCHINS. 

There is a great difficulty in preserving these animals, in 
consequence of the spines with which they are invested, prin- 
cipally from the care required in retaining the natnral posi- 
tions, the spines of which are, in many species, pointed in all 
«iirections. This is particularly the case with those of the 
genus Cidarities. These animals inhabit the Mediterranean 
and Indian seas, and are distinguished by the shells having 
large tubercles, pierced with holes, for a muscular cord which 
moves the spines. These spines are extremely large, solid, 
and heavy, and are very liable to fall off, even from their own 
weight while drying. 

The anal opening should be a little enlarged, a small spatula 
introduced, and the whole intestines removed ; it should then 
be immersed in fresh water for a quarter of an hour, taking 
care to preserve the spines. When taken out, fill the shell 
with cotton ; the shell should then be placed on a plank to dry, 
and between each spine a pad of cotton, to prevent the weight 
of the shell resting on the spines, and also to keep those on 
the upper surface in their proper place, and so that tiiey may 
all radiate from the body of the shell. 

In sending them home, each should be separately packed, 
retaining the cotton between the spines, placing them in a 
box, so tl^at they cannot rub against each other, and with a 
thick padding of cotton between each. Small species should 
be placed in little boxes, and packed as above directed. 

Nothing is more difficult than to preserve entire the spines 
of these large shells, and it is seldom that the larger species 
can be kept complete. But these can be again fixed, if they 
have f aUen off. The whole spines of the Echini and Spaiangi 
are seated on small tubercles. A little hole must be drilled 
in the end of each spine, at its base, with a triangular awl, or 
a saddler's awl, to the depth of about a quarter of an inch ; a 
needle, or very fine wire is introduced into the perforation 
after it has been filled with cement. The shell of the Echinus 
must now be filled with melted bees'-wax : care is taken to 
stop up the opemngs, while in the act of poming in the melted 
wax. When the wax has cooled, a hole is bored in each tu- 
bercle, for the reception of the needle, which must first be 
warmed at a hghted candle, and the wax on cooHng holds the 
needle firmly in its place. 

A better plan, however, than the above is, to use very fine 
wire which ought to be bent as nearly at right angles as pos- 
sible, before being introduced ; and, having filled up the 
vacancies of one side in this way (always leaving as much out- 
side as wiU fit into the perforation made in the base of the 
spine), pour in some cement, made as thin as it will flow 
easily, and then set it aside to dry. Repeat the same opera- 



"^50 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

tion with the other side ; and, when dry, the spines may be 
placed on the projecting wires with cement, as above directed. 
The wire which is left ontside should be roughened with a file 
here and there, previous to its being inserted, so that it may 
the better retain its hold in the cement. 

COEAL, &o. 

Zoophites, or corals, generally live in families or congre- 
gated masses. Their axis is of a horny consistence, generally 
hard, and disposed in layers ; their surface is usually fur- 
nished with small spines covered by a gelatinous substance. 
The axis of the Gorgona is also of a homy consistence, and 
the fleshy matter by which it is covered contains detached 
particles, that are very friable in nearly the whole species. 
These are first placed, for an hour or two, in fresh v/ater, and 
then dried, wiiile the branches are held open. The same 
method is adopted with the Pennatulce, or sea-pens. 

There is no difficulty in preserving the calcareous covering 
of the various madrepores, &c. ; all that is necessary is to 
immerse them in fresh water for some hours, so as to extract 
the salt, and then dry them thoroughly. 

In packing the small kinds, they may simply be placed in 
cotton ; but the ponderous and heavy ones should be fixed to 
the bottom of the case which is to contain them. This is 
done by passing cords between the branches at the Ijase, and 
bringing these through holes bored in the bottom of the box, 
and fiaed outside with nails. The feet of th« madrepores 
have sometimes large openings, in which case, advantage is 
taken of them, to introduce pieces of wood into these natural 
apertures, and then nailing them to the bottom of the case. 

We have known many fine specimens of all kinds brought 
home, by gluing them to the sides and bottoms of packing- 
boxes ; and, when removed, the packing-box is taken to pieces, 
and floated in water to moisten the glue, and the specimens 
can easily be taken off. 

Sponges require merely to be soaked in fresh water and 
dried. No care is necessary in packing them. 

Infusoria^ Entozau^ Alcalepha and other minute or soft- 
fleshed sea animals cannot be set up by the taxidermist. 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 751 

PART SEVENTH. 

Of the Pr«paimtioii of Natural aud Artificial Skeletoms* 



GENEEAIi EEMARKS. 

AS much of the flesh should be removed from bones intend- 
J\ ed for preparation as possible with the scalpel, but it ia 
not required that they should be separated from each other, 
more than is necessary for placing them in a vessel for the 
purpose of maceration. The bones are to be entirely covered 
with water, which should be changed every day for about a 
week, or as long as it becomes discolored with blood ; after 
which, allow them to remain in water without changing till 
putrefaction has thoroughly destroyed all the remaining flesh ; 
this will require from three to six months in our climate, 
according to the season of the year or temperature of the 
atmosphere. In tropical climates, fourteen days will be suffi- 
cient to disengage the flesh completely from the bones. 

The large cylindrical bones of the thighs and arms should 
have holes bored in their extremities of the size of a goose 
quiU, to give the water access to their cavities, and a free exit 
to the medullary substance. 

As the water will gradually diminish in quantity from evap- 
oration, more should be added from time to time, so that 
none of the bones, or any part of them, may remain uncovered, 
as by exposure to the atmosphere they would become of a 
dirty color, and have a disagreeable r.ppearance. To be free 
from such stains, is considered a great beauty in skeletons. 

In towns, the macerating vessels ►should always be closely 
covered, as from neglecting this, the ^yater is apt to get mixed 
with particles of soot, and other impurities, which have a 
strong tendency to blacken the bones. When the putrefac- 
tion has destroyed the ligaments, the bones are then fit for 
cleaning, which is done by scraping off the fl.esh, ligaments, 
and periosteum. When this is effected, the bones should be 
Again laid in clean water for a few days and well washed ; they 
Gught then to be placed in lime-water, or a solution of pearl- 
ftsh, for a week, when they may be taken out to dry, after 
having soaked them five or six hours in pure water, to remove 
the solution of pearl-ash, which would act upon their surface 
when exposed to the atmosphere. 

In drying bones they should not be exposed to the rays of 
the sun, or to a fire, as too gTeat a degree of heat brings the 
remaining medullary oil into the compact substance of the 
bones, and. gives them a disagreeable oily transparency. This 
is the great objection to the process of boiling bones, for the 



752 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

purpose of making skeletons, as the heat applied in that way 
has the same effect, unless they are boiled in a solution oi 
pearl-ash, which some are of opinion is one of the most offoc- 
fcual methods of whitening them by its effectually destroying 
the oiL But there can be but little doubt that bleaching is"^ 
of all methods, the more effectual where it can be done to its 
greatest advantage, namely, in a pure air, and more especially 
on a sea-shore. It is much more difficult to clean the bones 
of animals that have died in a good condition than those that 
are lean and reduced by disease. 

OF NATURAL SKELETONS. 

Natural skeletons are made without s^arating the bones 
from each other, in which case all the animal ligaments are 
allowed to remain entire. This plan is usually adopted only 
with young and small animals, because the ligaments when 
dry, being divested of their natural flexibility, occasion an in- 
convenience, as the different extents and varieties of motion 
cannot be shown in the different articulations. 

Li making these, we are first to remove from the bones the 
skin, muscles, tendons, and viscera, and, in short, everything 
except the connecting ligaments and cartilages, which ought 
to be carefully preserved. This is done without any regular 
order of dissection'; neither in this part of the process need 
any attention be paid to making the bones clean. The brain 
may be removed through an opening in the large fontanel, if 
the subject is very young, if not, a perforation may be made 
with the trephine for that purpose. Some separate the head 
from the spine, so that the brain may be more easily removed 
by the occipital hole. The skeleton is put in water and allowed 
to remain for several days, it is then taken out and more 
thoroughly cleaned by a knife, forceps, and scissors^ and re- 
placed in fresh water. This is repeated from day to day, con- 
stantly changing, the water, the object being to preserve the 
ligaments fresh and transparent. It is of great consequence 
to work hard by daily scraping and scrubbing until the bones 
are deprived of their blood and oleaginous matter and become 
white and clean, then remove them into clean lime-water, or 
solution of pearl-ash, for two or three days to take off any 
greasiness, and give a more beautiful white. When they have 
laid long enough, wash them with clean water ; they are then 
placed in a position, by the assistance of a frame or piece of 
wood and wire, exposing them to a current of air. When 
perfectly dry, they may receive a coating of copal or mastic 
varnish. 

It must be kept in view, that if the preparation is allowed 
to remain too long in the state of maceration, the ligaments 
themselves will be destroyed by putrefaction, and tlieiuteution 
uf procuring a natural skeleton defeated. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 753 

An excellent and simple way of procuring natural skeletons 
of mice, small birds, and fish, is to put them into a box of the 
proper size, in which holes are bored on oil sides, and then 
buried in an ant-hill. The ants will enter numerously at 
these holes and eat away all the fleshy parts, leaving only the 
bones and connecting ligaments ; they may be afterward 
macerated in clean water for a day or two to extract the bloody 
color, and to cleanse them from any dirt they may have ac- 
quired, then whitened by lime and alum- water, and dried in 
frames or otherwise, as iiicvj Knt ^v/ot ccnvcrj^r^ In country 
situations wasps may be employed in this service ; intyr^ ttre 
most voracious animals, and if a skeleton is placed near one 
of their nests, or in an empty sugar-cask, where they resort in 
plenty, they will perform the dissection with much gTeater ex- 
pedition, and equally well as the ants. Wasps have been 
known to clean the skeleton of a mouse or small bird in three 
or four hours, while ants would require a week to effect it. 

When the animal is of a large size, the hgaments are some- 
times unable to sustain the weight of the bones, in which case 
an iron wire, of sufficient thickness, is passed through the 
center of the back-bone, which must pass out anteriorly, so as 
to fix the head to the cervical vertebrae. It is made in the 
form of two forks, the one for the support of the interior, and 
the other for the exterior part ; for this purpose two pieces 
of iron wire are taken the length of the skeleton ; they are 
twisted together, leaving a fork at each extremity, and are 
then both fixed to the board on which the skeleton is to be 
placed. One of these should enter the ribs and encompass 
the back-bone, between the scapular bones of each shoulder, 
the other two should pass between the bones of the pelvis. 

It not unusually happens that pieces of the skeleton detach 
one from another, in which case, two holes are bored in the 
ends of the bones, which are separated, and are reunited by 
means of smaU. brass wires. 

or ARTIFICIAL. SKELETONS. 

Skeletons of man and animals of a middling and large size, 
cannot be made in the manner described for natural skeletons. 
In this case, the bones, covered by the flesh, are immersed in 
water and allowed to remain without changing, until the soft 
parts begin to get putrid, when the animal matter is easily 
removed ; and by repeating the maceration two or three times, 
it may all be completely abstracted. The duration necessary 
for the first maceration will depend upon the state of the 
atmosphere, being always much shorter in summer than winter. 

After the fleshy matter has been completely freed from the 
bones, they should be exposed on the roof of a house, or other 
convenient situation, until they are rendered quite white, and 
free from grease. 



754 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



The fat in bones bears a close resembliiiice to the fixed oils. 
In the bones of whales it exists fluid like oil. In the long 
bones of oxen, horses, and other large quadrupeds, it is semi- 
fluid, constituting the marrow. When, therefore, this is pre- 
sent in considerable quantity, the process may be much accel- 
erated by drilling holes with a gimlet, or other instrument, in 
the opposite ends of the bones, and injecting by means of a 
syringe, a tepid solution of pearl-ash, the potash combining 
with the oleaginous matter, forming a kind of soap, which be- 
ing soluble in water, is easily removed. Chloride of lime is 
also employed for the same purpose. 

The relative proportion of earthy and animal matter varies 
according to the nature of the bone, and the purposes it is in- 
tended to serve. The bones of quadrupeds and birds contain 
a much greater proportion of earthy matter than those of rep- 
tiles and fishes, and hence are more easily cleaned. Here it 
may be remarked, that the color of bones varies in different 
animals. In some common fowls it approaches to a dark yel- 
lowish brown. Food exercises considerable influence on the 
color, as is demonstrated in animals which feed on madder. 

When the bones are perfect and dry, they are connected by 
means of wire and screws, &c. This is the most difficult part 
of the operation, as it requires considerable skill to reassemble 
the bones, so that they may be placed in their natural order 
and position. The operation is begun at one of the extremi- 
ties, by making holes in the apophysis, or round ball of the 
bone, fig. 75. This is effected by means of a drill 
or a lathe, or with a gimlet, although this instrument 
has hardly sufficient power for perforating so hard 
a substance as bone. 

The bones are then attached to each other in their 
natural order, with annealed iron wire, or brass 
wire, by means of the perforations which have been 
made. The ends of the wire should be twisted, and 
not too firmly, but sufficient to allow a little play 
between the articulation ; this mode to be pursued 
-^ «,e till the whole wires are put together. They are then 
^* ' ready for placing on a board, and are kept erect by 
one or two perpendicular bars of iron, suited to the weight 
of the skeleton. In the larger species of birds, one support 
is necessary ; it is passed through the breast-bone, and 
attached under the spine, as represented in the skeleton of 
the goshawk, fig. 2. The position of this support must be 
varied according to the attitude in which the skeleton is to be 
placed. 

In skeletons of the horse, the ox, the hippopotamus, the 
rhinoceros, the camel, and the elephant, the Hnks of wire 
which we have above described, are insufficient to unite their 
bones ; for these, two iron pegs are used with a head at one 
end, and a screw at the other. Each screw is provided with a 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 755 

nnt, and each pair of screws must have a narrow plate of iron 
bored at each end to pass the screw through. Supposing the 
bones of the leg and thigh, of a large quadruped, are to be 
united, a hole is bored through the apophysis, about two 
inches from the extremity, and the same having been done 
with both leg and thigh bones, they are brought together, and 
one of the screws passed into one of the holes of the plates 
which we have mentioned, and then through the perforations 
in the bone, and lastly into the other plate ; they are tightened 
together by means of the nut. The screws should be nearly 
an inch longer than the thickness of the bones. The two ends 
of the bones are thus united and supported by the two plates 
which are kept together by the screws. Provision must be 
made for the play of the bones, by leaving a sufficient distance 
in boring the holes, through which the pegs are passed. This 
we have represented in fig. 76, showing one iron plate and one 
nut, by which the screws of the iron peg are tightened, the head 
of the other iron peg, the nut and screw of which are placed 
on the opposite side. 

The horse and other large animals require a double bar to 
support them, as represented in fig. 1, page 8. A bar is 
also passed through the vertebrae of fiie neck, spine, and tail, 
and the ribs are attached by means of wires, or flat pieces of 
plate iron. 

In these larger animals, the heads are for the most part 
sawn through, for the purpose of studying the structure of 
the internal cavity and partitions. These are kept together 
by means of a hmge, so that they can be opened and ^ut at 
pleasure. 



PART EIGHTH. 

Of tbe ClLa8e« and tl^e Manner of Collectini; Animals* 4k«« 



QUADRUPEDS AND BIRDS. 

IT is hardly necessary to recommend a double-barreled gun 
One of the barrels should be loaded with small shot, or 
dross of lead or sand for small birds, and the other with hurge 
shot. These should have much less powder than an ordinary 
charge, so as not to tear and injure the amimals. Paper, 
cotton, or flax, and powdered dry earth or ashes should form 
part of the naturalist's stores. 

When a bird is kiUed, a small quantity of dry dust is put on 
the wound. For this purpose, the feathers must be raised 



756 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



#itli a pin, or a gun-picker, close to the wound. The biU ol 
fche bird should have a small quantity of cotton or flax intro- 
duced into it to prevent the blood from flowing, and spoiling 
the plumage. The feathers must be all adjusted, and the bird 
then placed on the ground to allow the blood to coagulate. 
Every specimen should be placed in a piece of paper of the 
form of a hollow cone, like the thumb-bag used by grocers. 
Tb© head should be introduced into this, the paper should 
then be closed around the bird, and packed in-a box filled with 
aoioss, dried grass, or leaves. 

Birds taken alive in nets and traps are to be preferred to 
others for stuffing, and also those caught by bird-lime, which 
must be removed by spirits-of-wine. 

Birds should always be skinned the same day they are killed, 
or next day at farthest, particularly in summer, as there is a 
danger of putrefaction ensuing, by which the feathers will fall 
off. However, in winter there is no danger for some days ; 
but in tropical climates they must be prepared soon after they 
are killed. The same observations ^-pply generally to quad- 
rupeds. 

Bats and owls are caught during ine day, in the hollows of 
aged trees, in the crevices of walls, and ruins of buildings. 
These are animals which, it may be presumed, are still little 
'mown in consequence of their nocturnal habits. 

Those who prepare for the chase, with the intention of pre- 
serving animals, should take care to provide themselves with 
implements necessary for fulfilling the objects advantageously. 
The articles most needful are one or two pairs of large pincers, 
scissors, forceps, scalpels, knives, needles, thread, and a small 
hatchet, as well as one or more canisters of preserving 
powder, some pots of arsenical soap, or arsenical composition, 
and some bottles of spirits of turpentine. If in America, 
cotton may be employed in stuffing the skins, and therefore a 
considerable quantity should always be taken along with the 
naturalist. In parts of Asia and Africa where this cannot be 
procured, tow must be employed, or old ropes teazed down ; 
and where even these cannot be found, dried grass and moss 
may be used. M. Le VaiUant used a species of dog-grass 
whUe in Africa, which is very abundant in that country and 
it answered the purpose remarkably well. 

It being supposed that a traveler has an ample caravan, 
provided with all the necessaries which we have pointed out, 
and having killed a quadruped, he will skin it immediately, 
according to the method which we have pointed out in the 
preceding page. He will then sew up the skin after receiving 
ft partial stuffing, and having been anointed with the arsenical 
soap, or composition. All the extremities must then be im- 
bued with spirits of turpentine, and the skin should be placed 
in some convenient place to dry, so that it may have the ad- 
vantage of complete expusuie to the air. The turpentin« 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 757 

must be again applied at the end of three or four days, mora 
especially around the mouth of the quadruped. 

It will be of the utmost advantage to remain a week or ten 
days at one place ; by which means the naturalist will have 
had time to render himself somewhat acquainted with the 
animals which localize in that neighborhood. And as some 
species frequently confine themselves to a very limited spot, 
by leaving the place too hurriedly he is apt to overlook them. 

After the traveler has determined on leaving his canton- 
ment, he must see that all the objects he has collected are in 
a condition to be removed. He must examine carefully each 
specimen, and see that they have not been attacked by the 
destructive insects, so abundant in warm climates. Should 
flies have deposited their eggs in the lips of the quadrupeds 
or birds, these must be destroyed by spirits of turpentine. 
When a set of animals or birds are thoroughly dry, they 
should be packed in a box or case, which has been well joined. 

A journal ought to be kept detailing all circumstances con- 
nected with the animals, the i3laces in which they were killed, 
and the coh^i of their eyes, together with any information 
that can be procured of their habits from the natives. People 
are too apt to forget particulars when engaged in such varied 
pursuits, and the sooner they are committed to paper the better. 

Should the traveler, accidentally, or in pursuit of natural 
objects, find himself possessed of the carcass of any large 
and fine animals, he would deeply regTet not being able to 
fetch away the skin from want of a knowledge how to separate 
it from the body. We shall, therefore, suppose that he has 
killed an animal the size of a bull He must first make an 
incision under the belly, in the form of a double cross. The 
central line must reach from the chin to the anus ; the two 
other transverse cuts must reach from one foot to the other. 
These are always made inside, so that the seams may be less 
conspicuous when the animal is mounted. The nails or 
hoofs must be left attached to the skin ; the hoofs may be 
severed from the bone by laying on a stone and striking with 
a mallet or a hatchet. Aiter this as accomplished the skin is 
removed from the feet, legs, and thighs, and treated in other 
respects as pointed out in skinning the elephant, at page 1 9. 
The bones of the head must be preserved if possibV>, leaving 
it attached at the muzzle only. All the muscles must be 
removed from the head, and the bones rendered as clean as 
possible. 

As it is probable that an animal of this magnitude has been 
killed at a great distance from any habitation, there will not 
be an opportunity of macerating the hide in alum and water, 
as pointed out for the elephant. The skin will also be too 
thick for the arsenical soap to i)enetrate with effect. Under 
these circumstances, the next best tiling to preserve it, is to 
take the ashes of a wood fire, anok rub it well inside. The 



758 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

skin should then be stretched along the boughs of a tree, and 
allowed to dry. The skull, after it has also been dried, must 
be returned into the skin, and the lips, ears, and feet, imbued 
plentifully with turpentine, which operation must be several 
times repeated at intervals. Nothing is more effectual in pre- 
venting the attacks of insects than this spirit, and no larvae 
will exist in places w^hich it has touched. 

The skin will be sufficiently dried within two or three days, 
so that the hair may be turned inward. If some common salt 
can be procured, a solution of it should be made, and the hair 
rubbed with it. Both side^of the skin must be rubbed with 
tliis two or thi-ee times, at intervals of a day. 

When sufficiently dry, the skin may be roUed up and 
packed. The hair ought to be inward, with a layer of dried 
grass intervening, to prevent friction during conveyance. 
The operation of rolling up the skin must be begun at the 
head. 

If the journey is long, the skin should be unrolled, and 
placed in the sun for a few hours, and the places liable to the 
attack of moths should be again rubbed with turpentine. 

When a skin thus prepared has reached the place where it 
is to be put up, it must undergo a preparation previous to its 
being mounted. In the first place, it must be extended along 
the ground with the hair undermost, so that it may acquire 
fresh pliability, and those paxts which remain stiff must be 
moistened with tepid water. The skin must then be placed 
in a large vessel of water saturated with alum, there to remain 
eight or ten days ; after which, it must be extended on half- 
rounded pieces of wood, and thinned with a sharp knife, 
which is facilitated by the projections of the wood, enabling 
the operator the more easily to cut it, while it is gradually 
shifted, till the whole has been pretty equally thinned. When 
this operation is completed, it is allowed to soak in water with 
an equal quantity of that saturated with the alum. Twenty- 
four hours will be sufficient. It must then be placed on the 
artificial body, as directed for the elephant. 

In hunting for snakes, great caution must be exercised, as 
it is well known that the bite of some of these proves fatal 
within a quarter of an hour, jDarticularly that of the rattle- 
snake and some others. Indeed, it would be more prudent 
to allow the natives to hunt for these poisonous reptiles, as 
they are better acquainted with their haunts, and the means 
of defense to be employed in this dangerous pursuit. They 
are also better acquainted with those which are poisonous. 
We may, however, remark, that the poisonous snakes have, in 
general, much larger heads than those which are harmless, 
and their necks are also narrow. But it would be well for the 
novice to inform himself in advance as to the noxious animals 
he is likely to meet. 




THE HOME MECHANIC. 759 

DiJBfereut species of sea weed are frequently covered by 

minute shells ; weeds should always be carefully examined. 

Many of the smaller and microscopic sheUs 

are found at high water mark among the 

tine dross and drifted fragments of shells ; 

this sand should be brought home and ex- 

. Fig. 76.— Sieve, amined at leisure. To facilitate the pro- 

'cess, a small wire-cloth sieve should be made, of about six or 

seven inches, as represented in fig. 76, and all the sand sifted 

through it, and the shells left. 

INSECTS. 

This class is subject to infijiite variety, according to climate 
and soil. The entomologist, or the mere collector, must not 
confine himseK to those whose beauty of coloring renders 
them attractive, but collect all that come in the way. Those 
species which have wings, and fly around j^lants, we take by 
means of gauze nets, as also those which swim in the water. 
Tor the construction of these different nets, see previous 
descriptions. Those which live on putrid substances, and 
such as are disagreeable to the touch, are seized with pincers ; 
they are first put into camphorated spirits to render them 
clean. Trees are the habitation of innumerable insects, many 
of them skulk under the old rotten bark, and others attach 
themselves to the foliage. A cloth should be spread under 
the trees, or an umbrella, and the branches shaken with con- 
siderable force, when they will fall down, and may then be 
caught. 

Insects may by killed by making a crow-quiU into a point, 
and dipping it into prussic acid, an incision ^\-ith it may be 
made immediately below the head of the insect between the 
shoulders, which usually produces instant death. But this 
acid must be used with much caution, because its effects are 
almost as instantaneous and fatal in the human subject as in 
the lower animals. When cork cannot be had for lining the 
bottoms of the boxes, a layer of bee's- wax may be used in its 
stead. The pin should be deeply sunk in this substance, as 
it is more liable to loosen than when in cork. 

It is of much importance to procure the caterx^illar as well 
as the insect, and, in this case, some of the leaves on which it 
feeds should be placed in a box beside it, so that it may reach 
maturity. A small perforation should be made in the box for 
the admission of air. 

Every kind of insect, except butterflies, sphinxes, and 
moths, may be preserved in bottles of spirits, which Avill not 
injure them ; wlien they are taken out they are immediately 
I)laced in the position in which it is wished to preserve them, 
and they are then allowed to dry. Another mode of preserv- 
ing coleopterous insects, such as beetles, &c., is to put them 



760 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

in a dry box among fine sand. A row of insects is placed in a 
layer of sand, and then a new layer of an inch in depth laid 
on the top, and so on till the box is filled. This mode of pack- 
ing will not, however, do with soft insects, and those having 
fine wings. 

It is extremely desirable that all the different kinds of spi- 
ders should be caught, particularly those which are said to be 
venomous ; also termites, or white ants, the different Scolopendra 
and gaily worms, &c. The nests of spiders and other insects 
should also be sent home ; in short, every insect which is re- 
markable, in any way, either for its history or properties. 

It is also of much importance to bring specimens of the 
plants on which they feed ; these should be dried, and their 
localities marked, the kind of soil on which they grow, and 
the situations, whether moist or dry, should be noted. 

Woods, Hedges, and Lanes. — By far the greatest portion of 
insects are found in these situations. In woods, the ento- 
mologist must beat the branches of the trees into his folding 
net, and must select for this purpose the open paths, skirts, 
&c. The trunks of trees, gates, and timber which is cut down, 
should be carefully examined, as a great many lepidopterous 
and coleopterous insects are found in these situations, and in 
no other. In hedges and lanes, many of the most valuable 
and beautiful insects are found, as also in nettles and other 
plants which grow under them ; these should be well beaten, 
but more especially when the white-thorn blossoms in the 
months of May and June. Hedges where the roads are dusty 
are very seldom productive. 

Heaths and Commons. — Many insects are peculiar to these 
situations from the plants which grow on them, as well a^ from 
the dung of cattle by which many of them are frequented, in 
the latter of which, many thousands of insects may be found 
in a single day, in the months of April and May. These are 
principally of the order Goleoptera. 

Sand Pits. — These are favorable for the propagation of 
Capris lunarius, Notoxus monoceros, Lixus sulcirostris and 
other rare insects. Minute species are found abundantly at 
the roots of grass. 

Meadows, Marshes, and Ponds. — In meadows, when the 
Ranunculi, or butter-cups, are in blossom, many Muscce and 
dipterous insects generally abound. The flag-rushes are the 
habitations of Cassida, Donacina, and othevs. DriQs in marsh- 
es should be examined, as many species of insects are found 
on long gTass. The larvae of various Lepidoptera, and Neurop- 
iera are confined to these situations, more especially if hedges 
and trees^ are near the spot. Ponds are rich in microscopic 
insects. These are obtained by means of the landing net, 
which, for this purpose, need not be so long as represented in 
fig. 60, page 81, and should be made of pretty thick cotton 
cloth, but sufficiently thin to allow the water to escape. The 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 761 

mud which is brought up from the bottomof ponds and ditch- 
es should be examined, and what small insects are found may 
be put in a small phial filled with water, which will not only 
clean them, but keep them aHve ; and in many instances the 
naturalist will be surprised upon the examination of these, the 
most wonderful productions of nature. 

Moss, Decayed Trees, Boots of Grass, &c. — Many insects will 
be found in moss and under it ; the roots and wood of decayed 
trees afford nourishment and a habitation to a number of 
insects ; many of the larvas of Lepidoptera penetrate the trunks 
of trees in all directions ; most of the Cerambyces feed on 
wood, as well as some species of Carabidoe, ElateridcB, &c. In 
seeking for these, it is necessary to use the digger, shown in 
fig. 62, page 81. It is sometimes requisite to dig six or seven 
inches into the wood before they are found. 

Banks of Ponds and Roots of Grass. — These are a never- 
failing source of collecting, which may be followed at aU 
seasons of the year, and in general with great success ; those 
banks are to be preferred which have the morning or noon- 
day sun. 

Banks of Rivers, Sandy Sea Shore, &c. — These situations 
afford a gTeat variety of Coleoptera, Crustacea, &c. The dead 
carcasses of animals thrown on the shore should be examined, 
as they are the receptacles and food of Silphiodce, StaphilinidcB, 
&c. May and June are the best seasons for collecting these 
insects. 

Bead Animals, and Bried Bones, should be constantly 
examined, for these are the natural habitats of several insects. 
It is not uncommon fur country people to hang dead moles on 
bushes ; under these the entomologist should place his net, 
and shake the boughs on which they are hung, as many of the 
Coleoptera generally inhabit these. 

Fungi and Flowers. — These are the constant abode of insects, 
and many curious species will be found on them. 

It is a mistaken idea that insects are only to be found in 
summer, as they are to be met with, either in a hving or pupa 
state, at all seasons. Dried moss, beneath the bark of trees, 
and under stones, are extremely likely places to find insects in 
winter ; and even then, the entomologist is more likely to pro- 
cure some of the rare species,than in summer, as these are rang- 
ing in search of food, and in situations hidden from view. 

At this season, if the weather is mild, the pupae of Lepidop- 
tera will be found at the roots of trees, more especially those 
of the elm, oak, lime, &c., or beneath the underwood, close to 
the trees, and these frequently at the depth of some inches 
under the gTOund. 

In the months of June, July, and August, the woods are the 
best places to search for insects. Most of the butterflies are 
taken in those months, flying about in the day-time only. 
Moths are either found at break of day, or at twilight in the 



763 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

eyening. The following method of taking moths is pointed 
out by Haworth, in speaking of the oak-moth, Bombyx Quer- 
cus : " It is a frequent practice with the London Aurelians, " 
says he, "when they breed a female, of this and eome other 
day-flying species^ to take her, while yet a virgin, into the 
vicinity of woods, where, if the weather is favorable, she 
never fails to attract a numerous train of males, whose only 
business seems to be an incessant, rapid, and undulating 
flight, in search of their unimpregnated female ; one of which 
is no sooner preceived, than they become so much enamored 
of their fair and chaste relation, as absolutely to lose all kind 
of fear for their own personal safety, which, at other times, is 
effectually secured by the reiterated evolutions of their strong 
and rapid wings. So fearless, indeed, have I beheld them 
on these occasions, as to climb up and down the sides of a 
cage which contained the dear object of their eager pursuit, 
in exactly the same hurrying manner as honey-bees, which 
have lost themselves, climb up and down the glasses of a 
window." 



PART NINTH. 

Recipe» -fior-tlie Various Articles used in tlie Preservatioi 
and Setting up of AnimalSt 4t>c» 



SOLUTION OF COEROSIYE SUBLIMATE. 

PUT a large tea-spoonful of well-pounded corrosive sub- 
limate into a wine-bottleful of alcohol (spirits-of-wine.) 
Let it stand over night, and the next morning, draw it off into 
a clean bottle. When the solution is applied to black sub- 
stances, and little white particles are perceived on them, it 
wiU be necessary to make it weaker, by the addition of some 
alcohol. A black feather, dipped into the solution, and then 
dried, will be a very good test of the state of the solution ; if 
it be too strong, it will leave a whiteness upon the feather. 

AESENICAL SOAP. 
Inveniid by Becceur, Apothecary, Metz, 

Arsenic, in powder, - - 2 pounds, 
Camphor - - - - 5 ounces, 
White Soap, - . - 2 pounds, 

Salt of Tartar, - - - 12 ounces, 

Powdered Lime, - - - bounces. 
The soap must be cut in small and very thin slices, put int« 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 763 

a crucible witb a small quantity of water, and held over a 
gentle fire, and frequently stirred with a wooden spatula, or a 
piece of wood of any kind. When it is properly melted, the 
powdered lime and salt-of -tartar must then be added, and 
thorouglily mixed. It must now be taken off the fire, the 
arsenic added gently, and stirred. The camphor must be 
reduced into a powder, by beating it in a mortar, with the 
addition of a little spirits-of-wine. The c^imphor must then 
be added, and the composition well mixed with a spatula, 
while off the fire. It may be again placed on the fire, to assist 
in making the ingredients incoi-porate i^roperly, but not much 
heated, as the camphor will very rapidly escape. It may now 
be poured into glazed earthen pots, and allowed to cool, after 
which a piece of paper should be placed over the top, and 
afterward some sheep leather, and then set aside for use. 
The composition is about the thickness of ordinary flour 
paste. 

When it is necessary to use the soap, put as much as will 
answer the purpose into a preserve-pot, and add to it about an 
equal proportion of water. This is applied to the skin or 
feathers with a bristle brush. 

N. B. — It should be kept as close as possible, and used with 
caution, as it is a deadly poison. 

The above is the recipe made use of at the Jardin des 
Plantes, Paris. 

AESENICAL COMPOSITION. 
Mr. Laurent's Eecipe. 

A distinguished Prench naturahst, Laurent, recommends 
the following composition, after ten years* experience, for 
preserving the skins of stuffed animals. He observes, at the 
same time, that it penetrates them with greater readiness, and 
preserves them much better than any preparation which has 
hitherto been in use : 

Arseniate of Potash, 

Sulphate of Alumine, 

Powdered Camphor, 

White Soap, powdered, - 

Spirits of Wine, - - - 

Essence of Thyme, 
The arseniate of potash, sulphate of alumine, and soap, are 
to be placed in a phial, with a large mouth, and the spirits of 
wine to be poured on them, at a heat of twenty-five degrees, 
and they will be perfectly combined in twenty-four hours. 
The essence of thyme is then added, when the phial must be 
oarefuUy corked. This composition is to be shaken together 
before it is made use of, and it must bespread over the skin of 
the animal or bird with a brush. 



. 


2 drachms, 


- 


2 do. 


- 


2 do. 


- 


i oz. 


- 


6 oz. 


- 


3 drops. 



764 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

SOLUTION OP PEAEL-ASHES. 
Two ounces of pearl-ash to one gallon of water. 

ANNEALED lEON WIEE. 

Take common iron wire, make it red hot, and suffer it to 
cool gradually ; this renders it soft and pliable, so that it may 
be easily bent in any direction. 

CEMENT. 

Fine Whitening, - - - - 2 oz. 

Gum-Arabic, - - . - 2 oz. 

Finest Flour, - - . - i oz. 
Ox-Gall, a tea-spoonful. 

The whole to be dissolved, and mixed well with water into 
a thick paste. 

This is well adapted for attaching different object, and 
esi^ecially for fixing shells to pasteboard, &c. 

GUM PASTE. 

White Sugar Candy, - - - 2 oz. 
Common Gum-Arabic, - - - 4 oz. 

Let these be melted in a pot of hot water, and then strained 
through a linen or horse-hair sieve. When properly dissolved , 
add to it two table-spoonfuls of starch, or hair-powder, and 
mix the whole well together. This paste may be used for 
many purposes, and it never spoils. It may be dried, and by 
pouring a little warm water on it, it will soon be ready for use. 
If it is wished to be all melted, and hurriedly, the pot contain- 
ing it should be placed in warm water, or heated sand. 

FLOUR PASTE. 

Maike flour paste in the ordinary way, and add to it a small 
portion of the solution of corrosive sublimate, or powdered 
corrosive sublimate. This will prevent the attack of mites, to 
which paste is very liable when dried. This paste may bo 
dried into a cake, and moistened when required. 

SOLUTION OF GUM-ABABIC. 

The solution of gum arable is made by simply adding water 
to it. When used as a varnish, or for attaching objects, it is 
extremely apt to get too brittle, in very warm weather, and to 
crack, or split off in scales ; to prevent this, a quarter of an 
ounce of white or brown sugar candy must be added to two 
ounces of gum arabic. 

PAPER PASTE, GUMMED. 
Take a coffee-pot, filled with water, and add to it a quantity 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 765 

of paper, which has been slightly sized, like that used foi 
printing engravings. Let it boil for three hours, and when 
the water has evaporated, boil it again for a similar length of 
time. Take out the paper, and squeeze it well in a colander, 
and then pound it in a mortar, until it is reduced to a very 
line paste. It must then be dried. When it is required for 
use, add to it some of the solution of gum-arabic ; and keep it 
in a pot for use. 

POLLEN POWDEE. 

The paper made as above directed, when well dried, is 
pounded in a mortar till it becomes a very fine powder, it is 
then put into a tin pepper-box, and when any of the parts of 
parrots' bills, &c., are wished to have this powdered appear- 
ance, a little of the solution of gum-arabic is washed over the 
part with a camel-hair pencil, and the powder dusted on it, 
and allowed to dry. 

EED VAENISH. 

Take a stick of red sealing-wax beat it down with a hammer, 
and then put it into a phial, with an ounce of strong spirits-of- 
wine, which will dissolve it within four or five hours. It may 
be applied to any part with a camel-hair pencil, and it will dry 
in less than five minutes. 

Black, yellow, and green, or indeed" any color of varnish, 
may be made from sealing-wax of these various colors. 

To those unacquainted with the combination of colors, we 
may mention, that a mixture of blue and yellow produces 
green ; pink and blue makes purple ; red and yellow, orange ; 
black, red, and yellow, brown ; black and blue, gray. These 
may be varied, in an infinity of shades, by either color predo- 
minating, and by the addition of other colors. 

Varnishes of gum-copal and gum- mastic, and white spirit 
varnish, are also used for different preparations, but as these 
can be easily purchased at a cheap, or even a cheaper rate 
than they can be made in small quantities, we think it un- 
aecessary to give recipes for making them. 

LUTING FOR RENDERING BOTTLES AIR-TIGHT. 

Common Resin, 

Red Ocher reduced to a fine powder. 

Yellow Wax. 

Oil of Turpentine. 
These must be melted over a fire in the following manner ; 
and the vessel in which it is made should be capable of hold- 
ing three times the quantity required, to allow ample room for 
boiling up. An earthenware pipkin with a handle is the -best 
thing for the purpose, and a lid must be made of tin to fit it 
The luting will be rendered more or less brittle, or elastic, aa 
the red ocher prevails. 



766 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

The wax is first melted, and then the resin ; the ocher is 
then added in small quantities, and stirred quickly with a 
spatula each time. When all the ocher has been added, it must 
be allowed to boil six or eight minutes ; the turpentine is then 
added, and briskly stirred mth the spatula, and continue to 
boil it. There is considerable risk of the mixture taking fire, 
and should it do so, the lid must immediately be put on the 
vessel to extinguish it. 

To ascertain the consistence of the luting, a little must be, 
from time to time, dropped on a cool plate, or flat piece of 
iron. If it is too soft, more of the ocher must be added to it ; 
and if too hard, additional wax and turpentine. 

TOW AND FLAX SLIVEES. 

These are fillets of prepared tow and flax, of from one to 
three inches in breadth. They are extremely uniform in their 
thickness, being made to weight, and can easily be procured 
from any flax-spinning mill, at a moderate price per pound 
weight. 

CARBOLIC ACID. 

We have, in a previous portion of this work, spoken of the 
use of carbolic acid as a preservative. It is very useful in 
quickly and neatly helping to preserve fishes, when it is not 
desired to skin them. In such case the intestines are with- 
drawn by an incision in the abdomen, and a solution of the 
acid poured in. In regard to insects, if it is desired to pre- 
serve them only, without reference to their natural colors, 
the acid will answer very well, but if it is wished to retain the 
bright markings which characterize many insects, no carbolic 
acid must be used, as* it in almost all cases darkens with age 
and discolors the specimens ; of coiu^se this objection wiU not 
hold good in the case of dark and hard-bodied insects, in 
which instances a solution of carbolic acid can be used with 
much advantage. Another thing must be remembered — the 
pure acid is never to be used, it being perfectly useless. It 
must be very much diluted ; the following being good pro- 
portions : 

Carbolic Acid, - - - 1* desert-spoonful, 
Boiling Water - - _ 2 quarts. 
The crystalized acid must first be melted, and then added 
to the hot water. 

SHIELD'S "SUGAR" FOR MOTHS. 

* 
For the capture of moths the most successful time is in the 
evening, or even toward midnight. When seeking them in 
the dark, the collector proceeds to their known habitat with 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 767 

a lantern, round which the moths soon gather. Should tho 
fruit-bearing trees not be in full blossom, recourse may be 
had to " sugaring," or brushing a sweet compound, known by 
the technical name of "sugar," over the trunks of trees and 
on stones and posts, to attract the moths. The following is 
the recipe for making : 

Ale ^ pint, (nearly) 

Common Honey - - - | pound, 
Sugar - - - i pound, 

Kum - - - i wine-glass, 

Oil Bitter Almonds - - 5 drops. 
The ale is heated, and then the sugar and honey added ; 
when cold the rum and oil of almonds, mixed together, are 
added. 

ANOTHEE "SUGAE." 

A thick syrup, made of brown sugar, with a small quantity 
of rum. 

NICOLAS' GUM PASTE. 

Colocynth 1 oz. 

Gum Arabic, in powder - - 2 oz. 

Starch - 3 oz. 

Cotton, finely cut - - - - ^ oz. 
The colocynth is cut into small fragments, and boiled in 
about a pint of water ; the liquor is then strained, and the 
starch and gum added to it. The mixture is allowed to sim- 
mer on a slow fire for a short time. The cotton, being pre- 
viously as finely reduced as possible by clipping ^\dth scissors, 
is added, and the whole well mixed. A few drops of the cor- 
rosive sublimate solution will make an improvement. The 
cement may be softened by placing it in boiling water. 




768 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



PRICE LIST OF ARTIFICIAL EYES. 



In response to numerous inquiries for information, we give a 
list of prices at which Artificial Eyes are sold, together with 
illustrations which sliow the actual size of each style : 



ENAMELED EYES. 

No. 1, per 100 pair $4 00 

" 4 50 

" 5 00 

" 5 50 

" 6 00 

" 7 00 

" 8 00 

" 9 00 

" 10 00 

" 11 50 



2, 

3, 
4, 
5, 
6. 
7, 
8, 
9, 
10, 

11, per 50 pair 6 50 

12, " " 7 25 

13, '' " 8 00 

14, " " 9 00 

15, " " 10 50 

16, per 25 pair 6 00 

17, " " 6 75 

18, " " 7 50 

19, ' " 8 25 

20, " " 9 00 

21, per 10 pair 4 00 



22, 






.... 4 80 


23, 






.... 5 60 


24, 






.... 6 40 


25, 






....7 20 


26, 






.... 8 00 


27, 






....12 00 


28, 






...-16 00 



BLACK EYES. 

No. l,:per 100 pair % 30 

2," " " 35 

3, " " 40 

4, " '' 50 

5, " •' 60 

6, " " 80 

7, " " 1 00 

8, " '♦ 1 20 

9, " " 1 40 

10, " " 1 60 



11, per 50 pair 1 00 

12, " " 1 20 

13, " " 1 40 

14, " " 1 75 

15 << (I .2 10 
16' per 25 pair.'.'.'!!.'.* 1 25 

17, " '' 1 50 

18, " " 2 00 

19, " " 2 50 

20, " " 3 00 

21, per 10 pair 1 40 

22, " " 1 60 

23, " '' 1 90 

24, " " 2 20 

25, " " 2 50 

26, t' " 3 00 

0, per 100 pair 25 

00, " '' 20 



Eyes with white corners, measure long diameter. 
Cat, Tiger, Albino and White Rabbit Eyes are double price. 
Black Eyes are the size of Enameled or lithographed measure 
(full size). 
No. is smaller than No. 1 Black Eyes. 
No. 00 is smaller than No. Black Eyes. 
Insect Pins, per 100, assorted, 18 cents nett. 

K < t it 0(5 « < 

Artificial Leaves, per gross, 25 to 50 cents. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



769 



SIZES OF ARTIFICIAL EYES. 



®®®®®®®®(i)(*) 



123456 7 8 9 10 







11 12 13 14 15 






16 17 



18 




19 



20 



n 



770 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 






24 





THE Hume mechakio. 



771 





28 




Cat Eye 



Corners £y^ 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 773 



PRACTICAL RECEIPTS 

AND PROCESSES FOR EVERY-DAY USE. 



PATENT MEDICINES, AND HOW TO MAKE THEM, 

As everyone is aware, the nianufacture of " Patent 
Medicines'^ is one of the most profitable occupations a 
person can engage in. Such being the fact, we think the 
directions for making some of the best articles of the 
kind, which we append, are worthy of the first place in our 
book. Some general directions to the amateur manufac- 
turer may not be out of place. The ingredients should all 
be of the best quality, and should be free from dirt and all 
impurities ; in preparing the remedies, cleanliness should 
be observed in all the details, the vessels used should be 
carefully cleansed before and after using, and the bot- 
tles, &c., which are used to put the medicines in, should 
be free from dust or dirt ; as the appearance of the 
articles depends much on these points. In regard to 
putting up for sale, the best guides are the various com- 
pounds of the kind in market, though the style may 
be varied to suit the manufacturer. In all cases neat 
and attractive labels and wrappers should be used, and 
care should be taken that they do not get soiled, as 
people seldom purchase an article with a dirty or shabby 
appearance. It is usual to have a label pasted on the 
bottle, and the directions for use, &c., printed on a paper, 



774 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

and wrapped around the bottle, the whole being done 
up in a colored wrapper, a piece of pasteboard being 
placed over the cork to give the wrapper a square ap- 
pearance. 

Salves are put up in tin boxes, with a wrapper around 
the box, and directions. 

Pills are put up in oblong boxes, made of thin wood, 
with a paper wrapper. The twenty-five cent boxes usu» 
ally contain from tweivty-five to thirty pills, though in 
some cases not so many are given. The following re- 
ceipts embrace the he^t and most widely manufactured 
articles of the various kinds. It is important that the 
quantity and ingredients should be adhered to. In some 
cases (as in simple salves and other like articles) this 
does not matter, but in all the powerful remedies, and 
and where the relative value of the ingredients effect the 
cure; any departure from the receipt would render the 
article worthless, if not absolutely injurious. The quan- 
tities may, however, be increased or diminished, if the 
proportions remain the same. 

In conclusion, let me say, that success in this, as in 
all other occupations, depends upon industry and good 
management ; and while a valuable article seldom fails 
to succeed, a worthless one, although apparently suc- 
cessful at the start, generally proves a profitless under- 
{taking in a short time, and irreparably injures the char- 
acter of the manufacturer. 

Let ''Honesty is the best policy" be your motto, and 
by perseverance and industry you may count success as 
sure. 

Anti-Bilious Pills. — Compound extract of colocynth, 
60 grains ; rhubarb, 30 grains ; soap, 10 grains. Make 
into 24 pills. Dose, 2 to 4. 

2. Compound extract of colocynth, 2 drachms; extract 
of rhubarb, J drachm; soap, 10 grains. Mix, and divide 
.into 40 pills. Dose, 1, 2, or 3. 
: 3. Scammony, 10 to 15 grains; compound extract of 
colocynth, 2 scruples ; extract of rhubarb, \ drachm ; 
soap, 10 grains ; oil of carroway, 5 drops. Mr.ke into 20 
pills. Dose, 1 or 2, as required. 



THE HOME MECHAXIC. 775' 

Purgative Fills. — Simple extract of colocynth, 24 
grains; extract of jalap, 12 grains; blue pill, 12 grains; 
ipecacuanha, 4 grains ; oil of peppermint, 3 drops. Make 
into 12 pills. Dose, 2 to 4. 

Dinner Fills. — Aloes, 20 grains ; ginger, J drachm ; 
add syrup sufficient to mix. Divide into 20 pills. One 
to be taken daily, before dinner. 

Itch Ointment. — Olive oil, 1 lb. ; suet, 1 lb. ; alkanet 
root, 2 ounces. Melt, and when sufficiently colored, strain 
and add 3 ounces each of alum, nitre, and sulphate of 
zinc, in fine powder. 

2. Carbonate of potash, | ounce ; rose-water, 1 ounce: 
vermilion, 1 drachm; sulphur, 11 ounces; oil of berga- 
mot, J drachm; lard, 11 ounces. Mix. 

Camphorated Eye-Water. — Sulphate of copper, 15 
grains ; French bole, 15 grains ; camphor, 4 grains ; 
boiling water, 4 ounces. Infuse, strain, and dilute with 
2 quarts of cold water. 

Digestive Fills. — Rhubarb, 2 ounces ; ipecacuanha, J 
ounce; cayenne pepper, \ ounce; soap,^ ounce ; ginger, 
\ ounce; gamboge, | ounce. Mix, and divide into 4-grain 
pills. 

Gamphor Liniment. — Rectified spirits. It fluid ounces; 
strong water of ammonia, 2| ounces; camphor, 2 ounces, 
oil of lavender, 5 drops. 

Cephalic Snuff. — Dried asarbacca leaves, 3 parts ; 
marjoram 1 part, lavender flowers, 1 part ; rub together 
to a powder. 

Chamomile Drops. — This nostrum is merely spirits, 
flavored with oil of chamomile. A strong tincture of 
the flowers is much better. 

Chamomile Fills. — Aloes, 12 grains ; extract chamomile, 
36 grains ; oil of chamomile, 3 drops ; make into 12 pills; 
2 every night, or twice a day. 

For Chronic Rheumatism.- — Powdered rhubarb, 2 
drachms ; cream of tartar, 1 ounce ; guaiacum 1 drachm ; 
sulphur, 2 ounces ; 1 nutmeg, grated fine ; clarified 
honey, 16 ounces, Mix, take 2 spoonfuls night ai»d 
morning. 

Cholera Remedy. — Spirits of wine, 1 ounce ; spirits o/ 



776 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

lavender, J ounce; spirits of camphor, J ounce; compound 
tincture of benzoin, J ounce; oil of origanum, J ounce; 
twenty drops on moist sugar. To be rubbed outwardly 
also. 

2. Twenty-five minims of diluted sulphuric acid in an 
ounce of water. 

Corn Remedy. — Soak a piece of copper in strong vin- 
egar for 12 or 24 hours. Pour the liquid off, and bottle. 
Apply frequently, till the corn is removed. 

2. Supercarbonate of soda, 1 ounce, finely pulverized, 
and mixed with | ounce lard. Apply on linen rag every 
night. 

Preventive of Sea-sickness. — Boil 2 ounces of opium, 2 
drachms extract of henbane, 10 grains of mace, and 2 
ounces of soap, in 3 pints of water, for half an hour. 
When cold, add 1 quart of rectified spirits, and 3 drachms 
of spirits of ammonia. To be use'd as an embrocation. 

Edinburgh Ointment. — White hellebore powder, sal 
ammoniac, and lard. 

Extract of Sarsaparilla. — Jamaica sarsaparilla, 16 
ounces ; lukewarm water (100° to 112° F.) sufficient to 
cover it. Macerate six hours, and strain. Add to the water 
the following ingredients, and boil : bruised licorice 
root, sassafras, guaiacum raspings, of each 2 ounces ; 
mezercum, | ounce. Let it cool, stirring occasionally, 
and add 2 ounces of rectified spirits of wine, in which a 
few drops of oil of sassafras have been dissolved. Good 
for humors, &c. Sells for one dollar per quart. 

Godfrey's Cordial. — Sassafras, 6 ounces ; seeds of car- 
riander, carraway, and anise, of each 1 ounce ; infuse in 
6 pints of water ; simmer the mixture till reduced to 4 
pints, then add six pounds of molasses ; boil a few 
minutes; when cold, add 3 fluid ounces of tincture of 
opium. For children teething. 

Hooper'' s Female Fills. — Sulphate of iron, 8 ounces ; 
water, 8 ounces ; dissolve, and add Barbadoes aloes, 
40 ounces ; myrrh, 2 ounces ; make 1000 pills. Dose, 2 
to 6. 

Whooping Cough.— SnipeYCSiYhonsite of potash, 20 grains; 
powdered cochineal, 10 grains; hot water, J of a pint. 



THE HOME MECHAI^IC. W 

Mix, strain, and sweeten with white sugar. Dose, a 
teaspoonful to a tablespoonful, according to age. 

Corn Plaster. — Yellow wax, 1 pound; Venice turpen- 
tine, 2 ounces; verdigris, 1 ounce; melt together and 
spread on leather. 

Cough Lozenges. — Powdered lactucarium, 2 drachms; 
extract of licorice root, 12 drachms; powdered squills, 
15 grains; refined sugar, 6 ounces; mucilage of traga- 
canth sufficient to mix. Make into 240 equal lozenges. 

Cough Mixture. — 4 drachms paregoric, with 2 drachms 
of sulphuric ether, and 2 drachms tincture of tolu. Dose, 
a teaspoonful in warm water. 

To prevent Hydrophobia. — Elecampane, 1 drachm; 
chalk, 4 drachms; Armenian bole, 3 drachms; alum, 10 
grains ; oil of anise-seed, 5 drops. 

Pile Ointment. — Powdered nutgall, 2 drachms ; cam- 
phor, 1 drachm ; melted wax, 1 ounce ; tincture of opium, 
2 drachms. Mix. 

Cancer Ointment. — White arsenic, sulphur, powdered 
flowers of lesser spearwort, and stinking chamomile, levi- 
gated together, and formed into a paste with white of 

Bouchers Embrocation. — Olive oil, with half its weight 
of oil of cloves and oil of amber. 

Riga Balsam, for Bruises. — Mix 4 ounces of spirits of 
wine with 1 drachm of compound tincture of benzoin 
and 2 drachms of tincture of saffron. 

Golden Ointment. — Orpiment, mixed with lard to the 
consistence of an ointment. 

Swaim^s Vermifuge. — Wormseed, 2 ounces ; valerian, 
rhubarb, pink-root, white agaric, of each 1| ounce ; 
boil in sufficient water to yield 3 quarts of decoc- 
tion, and add to it 30 drops of oil of tansy, and 45 
drops of oil of cloves, dissolved in a quart of rectified 
spirits. Dose, 1 tablespoonful at night. 

Tincture for Wounds. — Digest flowers of St. Johns- 
wort, 1 handful, in | pint of rectified spirits, then ex- 
press the liquor, and dissolve in it myrrh, aloes, and 
dragon's-blood, of each 1 drachm, with Canada balsam, 
I ounce. 



778 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Essence for the Headache. — Spirits of wine, 2 pounds •, 
roche alum, in fine powder, 2 ounces ; camphor, 4 ounces ; 
essence of lemon, J ounce ; strong water of ammonia, 4 
ounces. Stop the bottle close, and shake it daily for 
three or four days. 

Foot Ointment (for aii aomestic animals). — Equal parts 
of tar, lard, and resin, melted together. 

Liniment for Sore Throats. — Oil of turpentine, 1 ounce ; 
sweet oil, 1 ounce ; water of ammonia, 2 ounces. 

Spirits of Camphor. — Camphor is dissolved without 
limit in alcohol. A good proportion for family use is an 
ounce of camphor to a pint of alcohol A few drops of 
alcohol in a mortar are necessary to enable us to powder 
camphor, when the powder is; required for pills or oint- 
ments. 

Simple Cerate. — Take of white wax, one pound ; lard, 
4 pounds ; melt with a gentle heat, and stir till cool. A 
simple healing salve. 

Gascarilla Tonic. — Take of cascarilla, bruised, 1 ounce ; 
boiling water, 1 pint ; digest (without boiling) on a 
warm stove two hours. Dose, a wineglassful every three, 
four, or six hours. 

, Ba&'llicon Ointm£nt. — Good resin, 5 parts ; lard, 8 parts ; 
yellow wax, 2 parts. Melt, and stir together till cool. 

Spice Plaster. — Take of powdered cloves, 1 ounce ; 
ground cinnamon, 1 ounce ; ground allspice, 1 ounce ; 
ground black pepper, 2 ounces ; flour, 3 or 4 ounces, or 
enougii to mix. Mix in a paste with vinegar, and spread 
upon muslin. This is a stimulating plaster ; if a more 
powerful one is required, substitute cayenne for black 
pepp(;r. 

Volatile Liniment. — Take of spirits of hartshorn (aqua 
ammoniac), 1 part ; sweet oil, 4 to 6 parts. The weak- 
er preparation is the more elegant ; but the stronger 
may be used when a powerful stimulating liniment is 
required. 

Russia Salve.— Hdbke equal parts of yellow wax and 
sweet oil, melt slowly, carefully stirring ; when cooling, 
stir in a small quantity of glycerine . Good for all kinds 
of wounds, &c. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 779 

Pcdn Killer. — Put 5 tablespoonfuls of cayenne in % 
wide-mouth bottle, add half a pint of alcohol and a small 
piece of camphor. Cork and let it stand 10 or 12 days 
or longer, then pour carefully into bottles. This is an 
excellent internal and external remedy. 

Soothing Syrup. — Take one pound of honey, add 2 
tablespoonfuls of paregoric, and the same of oil of anise-' 
seed, add enough water to make a thick syrup, and bottle. 
For children teething, dose, a teaspoonful occasionally. 

Arnica Liniment. — Add to one pint of sweet oil, 2 
tablespoonfuls of tincture of arnica ; or the leaves may 
be heated in the oil over a slow fire. Good for wounds, 
stiff joints, rheumatism, and all injuries. 

Blackberry Cordial for Z)iQ!rr/icea.— To half a bushel of 
blackberries, well mashed, add a quarter of a pound of 
allspice, 2 ounces of cinnamon, 2 ounces of cloves ; 
pulverize well, mix and boil slowly until properly done; 
then strain or squeeze the juice through home-spun or 
flannel, and add to each pint of the juice 1 pound of 
loaf sugar, boil again for some time, take it off, and, 
while cooling, add half a gallon of the best Cognac 
brandy. 

A (Jure for Diarrhoea. — The following is said to be an 
excellent cure for the above distressing complaint: 
Laudanum, 2 ounces ; spirits of camphor, 2 ounces ; es- 
sence of peppermint, 2 ounces; Hoffman's anodyne^ 2 
ounces; tincture of cayenne pepper, 2 drachms ; tincture- 
of ginger, 1 ounce. Mix all together. Dose: a tea- 
spoonful in a little water, or a half teaspoonful repeated 
in an hour afterward in a tablespoonful of brandy^ This 
preparation, it is said, will ^heck diarrhoea in ten min- 
utes, and abate other premonitory symptoms of cholera 
immediately. In cases of cholera, it has been used with 
great success to restore reaction by outward application. 

Invalid GordiaL— An excellent article to strengthen 
and restore the tone of the stomach. It prevents faint- 
ness or a sinking feeling at the stomach, mid for persons 
subject to low and depressed spirits, it affords great re- 
lief , It is made thus t 

Dissolve gumarabic, 2 ounces, in 1 pint of rain water, 



780 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

and 1| wine glass of best brandy, take a tablespoonful 
three or four times a day. 

Cramp Remedy. — Ten drops of the oil of larender, 
taken in a gill of French brandy, and repeated hourly if 
necessary. 

Cough Compound. — For the cure of cougns, colds, 
asthma, whooping cough, and all diseases of the lungs : 
One spoonful of common tar, 3 spoonfuls of honey, the 
yolk of 3 hen's eggs, and J pint of wine ; beat the tar, 
eggs, and honey well together with a knife, and bottle 
for use. A teaspoonful every morning, noon, and night, 
before eating. 

Opodeldoc. — Take 2 ounces of Venetian soap ; 1 ounce 
gum camphor ; 1 pint of brandy ; dissolve the soap in 
the brandy by a slow heat, then add the camphor. 

Hot Drops. — This is made by adding j of a pound of 
best gum myrrh, pulverized, and 1 ounce of African 
cayenne, to 1 gallon of alcohol, or fourth-proof brandy. 

Composition — Take 1 pound of fine bayberry bark, 8 
ounces of ginger, 8 ounces of cayenne, and mix well to- 
gether. 

Ointment for Scruf in the Heads of Infants. — Lard, 2 
ounces ; sulphuric acid, diluted, 2 drachms ; rub them 
together, and anoint the head once a day. 

Infants^ Syrup. — The syrup is made thus : 1 pound best 
box raisins, J an ounce of anise-seed, two sticks licor- 
ice ; split the raisins, pound the anise-seed, and cut the 
licorice fine ; add to it 3 quarts of rain water, and 
boil down to 2 quarts. Feed three or four times a 
day, as much as the child will willingly drink. The 
raisins are to strengthen, the anise is to expel the wind, 
and the licorice as a physic. i 

Female Obstructions, &c. — Make a syrup of equal parts 
of heart's ease, spikenard root with the pith out, Turkey 
root, wild licorice, pond-lily root, a small part of biood- 
root, and a double proportion of an herb called female 
flowers. The last often grows by the edges of ponds, 
and has a leaf and blossoms similar to cowslips, but 
grows single, one root or stalk \yj itself, and smaller 
than the cowslip. The blossom is yellow. It is one of 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 781 

the finest roots for females in the world. Boil in fair 
water until the substance is extracted ; strain, sweeten 
with honey, add as much rum as will keep it from sour- 
ing ; drink half a gill on going to bed, every night. It 
will strengthen the system and throw off all obstructions 

Elder Flower Ointment. — Lard, 25 pounds prepared 
mutton suet, 5 pounds ; melt in an earthen vessel ; and 
elder flower water, 3 gallons. Agitate for half an hour, 
and set it aside ; the next day gently pour off the water, 
remelt the ointment, add benzoic acid, 3 drachms ; otto 
of roses, 20 drops ; essence of bergamot and oil of rose- 
mary, of each, 30 drops ; again agitate well, let it settle 
for a few minutes, and then pour off the clear into pots. 

Cure for Corns. — Take 2 ounces of gum-ammoniac, 2 
ounces of yellow wax, 6 drachms of verdigris ; melt them 
together and spread the composition on soft leather. 
Cut away as much of the corn as you can, then apply 
the plaster, and renew it every fortnight till the corn is 
away. 

Uses of Camphor. — Spirits of Camphor. — The gum resin 
camphor readily dissolves in alcohol, forming spirits of 
camphor. About 2 ounces of the camphor are generally 
dissolved in about a pint of the spirits. It is used as 
an external application for sprains, local pains, and 
stitches. It is applied by rubbing with the hand upon 
the painful part. To secure the full benefit of the appli- 
cation, the part should be afterwards covered with a 
piece of flannel of suitable size, more or less wetted with 
the spirits, and the whole covered with oil silk for the 
purpose of restraining evaporation. 

Camphorated Oil. — This is another camphor liniment. 
The proportions are the same as in the preceding for- 
mula, substituting olive oil for the alcohol, and exposing 
the materials to a moderate heat. As an external 
stimulant application it is even more powerful than the 
spirits ; and to obtain its full influence, the part treated 
should be also covered with flannel and oil silk. It 
forms a valuable liniment in chronic rheumatism, and 
other painful affections, and is specially valuable as a 
counter-irritant in sore or inflamed throats, and diseased 



782 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

bowels. Camphor constitutes the bases of a large 
number of valuable liniments. Thus, in cases of whoop- 
ing-cough and some chronic bronchitic affections, the 
following liniment may be advantageously rubbed into 
the chest and along the spine : Spirits of camphor, 2 
parts ; laudanum, J a part ; spirits of turpentine, 1 
part ; castile soap in powder, finely divided, | an ounce ; 
alcohol, 3 parts. Digest the whole together for three^ 
days, and strain through linen. This liniment should 
be gently warmed before using. A powerful liniment 
for old rheumatic pains, especially when affecting the 
loins, is the following : — Camphorated oil and spirits of 
turpentine, of each 2 parts ; water of hartshorn, 1 part ; 
laudanum, 1 part ; to be well shaken together. Another 
very efficient liniment or embrocation, serviceable in 
chronic painful affections, may be conveniently and 
easily made, as follows : Take, of camphor, 1 ounce ; 
cayenne pepper in powder, 2 teaspoonfuls ; alcohol, 1 
pint. The whole to be digested with moderate heat for 
ten days, and filtered. It is an active rubifacient; and, 
after a slight friction with it, it produces a grateful 
thrilling sensation of heat in the pained part, which is 
rapidly relieved. 

Whooping Cough. — Mix a quarter of a pound of ground 
elecampane root in half a pint of strained honey and half 
a pint of water. Put them in a glazed earthen pot, and 
place it in a stone oven, with half the heat required io 
bake bread. Let it bake until about the consistency o' 
strained honey, and take it out. Administer in doses of 
a teaspoonful before each meal, to a child ; if an adult 
double the dose^ 

Cure for Inflaramatorij Bheumatismr — Half an ounce 
of pulverized saltpetre put in half a pint of sweet oil ; 
bathe the parts affected, and a sound cure will be speedi- 
ly effected. 

Fot Disease of the Bowels. — Take equal parts of 
syrup of rhubarb, paregoric, and spirits of camphor ; mix 
together. For an adult, 1 teaspoonful. If necessary, it 
may be repeated in two or three hours. 

For Gough. — Take 1 tablespoonful of molasses, 2 tea- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 783 

spoonfuls of castor oil, 1 teaspoonful of camphor, and 1 
teaspoonful of paregoric ; take half a teaspoonful fre- 
quentljo This is of great service when children have 
symptoms of croupo 

Rheumatic Plaster. — J pound of resin, and \ pound of 
sulphur — melt them by a slow fire, then add one ounce 
of cayenne pepper, and \ an ounce of camphor gum ; stir 
well till mixed, and temper with neats'-foot oil. 

Catarrh. — Take dry bloodroot, and reduce it to pow 
der — mix it with gum camphor ; use it as a snuff. It is 
said to be a certain cure. 

Balm-Gilead. — Balm-gilead buds, bottled up in new 
rum, are very healing to fresh cuts or wounds. Nofarti- 
il'if should be without a bottle. 

Dysentery. — In diseases of this kind, the Indians use 
the root and leaves of the blackberry bush — a decoction 
of which in hot water, well boiled down, is taken in doses 
of a gill before each meal, and before retiring to bed. It 
is an almost infallible cure. 

Certain Cure for Headache and all Neuralgic Pains. — 
Opodeldoc, spirits of wine, sal ammoniac, equal parts 
To be applied as any other lotion. 

Ayefs Cherry PectoraL — Take 4 grains of acetate of 
morphia, 2 fluid drachms of tincture of bloodroot, 3 fluid 
drachms each of antimonial wine and wine of ipecacu- 
anha, and three fluid ounces of syrup of wild cherry. 
Mix. 

Rheumatic Oil. — This is made by taking 2 ounces of 
sweet oil and one of cajeput, and shaking them well 
together. 

For Toothache. — 1 pint of pure brandy, 1 ounce of cay- 
enne pepper ; let them stand in a bottle 24 hours, then 
strain the liquor off, and add one ounce of muriatic acid, 
and ready for use. 

To Cure a Felon. — Take equal parts of gum cam- 
phor, gum opium, castile soap, and brown sugar, wet 
to a consistency of paste, with spirits of turpentine, and 
apply it. 

Wormns in Children. — Steep or boil in a pewter vessel, 
over a moderate fire, very strong, the bark of spotted 



784 THE HoMK MKOHANlC. 

alder or witch-hazel. For a year old, a tablcspoonful ; 
increaHO the dose according" to ago. Give four or five 
tinu>s a day, for several days. It is sure and safe. Or 
line powdered sage, mixed with honey; a t(;aspoonf nl for 
a dose. Swec^tened milk, with the addition of a little 
alum, will turn tlie worms. Flour of sulphur, mixed 
witii hoiKiy, is very good. Heat very hot, in a smith's 
furnace, a piece of steel ; lay on it a roll of brimstone, 
melt th(i steel, let it fall into water, and it will be in 
round lumps. Pound them very line, mix the dust with 
molasses. Give half a teas[)()()nful night and morning, 
fasting. Or, give as much as will li(^ on a sixpence, of 
<lri(Kl mandrake roots, powdered and mixed with honey, 
in the morning, three or four times successively. If a 
cliikl have fits, proc(H)ding from worms, give as much 
paregoric as it can bear; it will turn the worms and ease 
the child. To prevent worms, let children eat onions, 
raw or cooked. Kaw are the best. Salt and water will 
turn worms, and a dose or two of Hour of sulphur after, 
will bring thi^m away, without any other medicine, 

Di/.^etUcry Sprcijic, particularly Jo?' Bloody Dysentery in 
AduUn and Children. — Take 1 pound gum arabic, one 
ounce gum tragacanth, dissolved in 2 quarts of soft 
water, and strained„ Then take 1 pound of cloves, J 
})ound cinnamon, J pound allspice, and boil in 2 quarts 
of soft water, and strain. Add it to the gums, and boil 
all together over a moderate fire, and stir into it 2 
pounds of loaf sugar. Strain the wliole again when you 
take it off, and when it is cool, add to it half a pint 
sweet tincture of rhubarb, and a pint and a half of best 
brandy. Cork it tiglit in bottles, as the gums will sour, 
if ex[)osed ; if corked properly, it willkeep for years. 

Filei^. — Make an ointment, of equal parts, of sage, 
parsley, burdock, and chamomile leaves, simmer half an 
hour in fresh butter or sweet oil and lard ; then rub the 
parts affected with it. 

For Tetter, Ringworm, and Scald Head, — One pound 
simple cerate ; sulphuric acid, \ pound ; mix together, 
and ready for use. 

Remedy for Rheumatiamo — Peel off the outside bark of 



TH!0 HOME MECHANiO. 785 

the elder, scra})e off the green bark that is under it, and 
stew in lard till it is crisp,. 

This is a most valuable salve, and of positive efficacy 
in cases of burns, sores, &c, 

Bittern. — Garden salendine, black cherry inside bark, 
poplar inside bark, and century herb, in equal propor- 
tions. 

Canker Cure. — Take 1 large teaspoonful of water, 
2 teaspoonfuls of honey, 2 of loaf sugar, 3 of powdered 
sage, 2 of powdered goldthread, and 1 of alum. Stir 
up all together ; put into a vessel, and let it simmer 
moderately over a steady fire. An oven is better. Then 
bottle for use. Give a t(3aspoonful occasionally through 
the day. 

Cure for Rheuinat'mn — One gill of alcohol, one of 
beef's gall, 1 of spirits of turpentine, one of sweet 
oil, and ounces 4 of camphor gum. Put them all in 
a bottle and shake it up ; use it two or three times a 
day, a teaspoonful at a time. Apply it, to the parts af. 
fected, before the fire. It is good, also, for frost-bites. 

For a Weak Back. — Take a beef's gall, pour it into 1 
pint alcohol, and bathe frequently. It acts like a charm. 

Lemon Syrup for a Cough. — To a pint and a half of 
water add 2 large poppy-heads and 2 large lemons. 
Boil them till they are soft, press the lemons into the 
water, strain the liquor, and add | a drachm of saffron, 
and \ a pound of brown sugar-candy, pounded. Boil 
all together till the sugar-candy is dissolved ; stir the 
whole till you perceive it will jelly ; strain it a second 
time, and it is ready. 

Cure for Coma. — Tie a piece of raw cotton to the corn, 
and wet it several times a day with spirits of turpen- 
tine ; this will, in three days, cure the corn without the 
least apparent pain. 

Cholera Morbus. — Take 2 ounces of the leaves of the 
bene plant, put them in \ a pint of cold water, and let 
them soak an hour. Give 2 tablespoonfuls hourly, until 
relief is experienced. 

Cure for Neuralgia. — Half a drachm of sal ammoniac in 
an ounce of camphor water ; to be taken a teaspoonful 



'?'86 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

at a dose, and the dose repeated at interralg of fire 
minutes, if the pain be not relieved at once. 

Tonic. — The following is the tonic iiised by reformed 
drunkards to restore the vigor of the stomach. Take of 
gentian root, \ ounce ; valerian root, 1 drachm, best 
rhubarb root, 2 drachms ; bitter orange peel, 3 drachms ; 
cardamom seeds, \ an ounce , and cinnamon bark 1 drachm 
Having bruised all the above together in a mortar (the 
druggist will do it, if requested), pour upon it 1| pints of 
boiling water, and cover up close ; let it stand till cold ; 
strain, bottle, and cork securely ; keep in a dark place. 
Two tablespoonfuls may be taken every hour before 
meals, and half that quantity whenever the patient feels 
that distressing sickness and prostration, so generally 
present for some time after alcoholic stimulants have 
been abandoned. 

Cure for Cancer. — Boil fine Turkey figs in new milk, 
tvhich they will thicken ; when they are tender, split, 
and apply them, as warm as can be borne, to the part 
affected, whether broken or not ; the part must then be 
washed, every time the poultice is changed, with some of 
the milk ; use a fresh poultice night and morning, and at 
least once during the day, and drink a quarter of a pint 
of the milk the figs are boiled in, twice in the twenty- 
four hours. If the stomach will bear it, this must be per- 
severed in three or four decades at least. A man, aged 
105 years, was cured, about six years before his death, 
with only 6 pounds of figs. The cancer, which began at 
the corner of his mouth, had eaten through his jaw, 
cheek, half-way down his throat ; yet it was so perfectly 
cured as never to show any tendency to return. Should 
it ever do so, the figs should be again applied. The first 
application gives a good deal of pain, but afterwards 
each dressing gives relief. 

For the Cure of Corns. — Take 2 ounces of gum ammo- 
niac, 2 ounces of yellow wax, and 6 drachms of verdigris, 
melt them together and spread the composition on soft 
leather. Cut away as much of the corn as you can, then 
apply the plaster, and renew it every fortnight, till the 
corn is eradicated. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 787 

How to Cure Deafness. — Temporary deafness, arising 
ftom cold, sitting in a draught, and other causes, may be 
lelieved and cured by letting fall into the ear ten drops 
of a mixture of sweet oil and one of glycerine every 
night, until the duct which leads from the ear to the nose 
is cleared ; this will be known by the sensation of the 
fluid passing from the ear into the nostril. 

Brandreth's Fills. — Take 2 pounds of aloes, I pound of 
gamboge, 4 ounces of extract of colocynth, J a pound of 
castile soap, 2 fluid drachms of oil of peppermint, and 
1 fluid drachm of cinnamon. Mix, and form into pills. 

Fills for Sick Headache. — IJ drachm castile soap, 40 
grains rhubarb, 20 drops oil of juniper and syrup of ginger 
enough to form 20 pills. Take two or three occasionally. 

Eruption Ointment, for Frosted Feet, Sc. — Chrome yel- 
low and hog's lard. 

Warts. — Frequently wash them with a strong decoc- 
tion of oak bark, or wet lunar caustic, and rub it on the 
warts a few times. 

3Ialone's Mixture for a Cough or Cold. — Take one 
teacup of flaxseed, soak all night. In the morning put 
in a kettle, 2 quarts of water, a handful, split up, of 
licorice root, J of a pound of good raisins, broke in 
half. Let them boil until the strength is thoroughly 
extracted, then add the flaxseed, which has been pre- 
viously soaked. Let all boil about half an hour more, 
watching and stirring, that the mixture may not burn. 
Then strain and add lemon-juice and sugar to taste. 
Take any quantity, cold, through the day, and half a 
thimbleful, warm, at night. The above is a most excel- 
lent recipe. 

Hoio to Cure Cancer. — The following is said to be a 
sure cure for cancer : A piece of sticking plaster is put 
over the cancer, with a circular piece cut out of the 
centre, a little larger than the cancer, so that the cancer 
and a small circular rim of healthy skin next to it is eX' 
posed. Then a plaster, made cf chloride of zinc, blood' 
root, and wheat flour, is spread on a piece of muslin the 
size of this circular opening, and applied to the cancer 
for twenty"' r^ur hours. On removing it, the cancer will 



788 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

be found burned into and appear of the color and hard 
ness of an old shoe sole, and the circular rim outside ol 
it will appear white and parboiled, as if scalded by hot 
steam. The wound is now dressed, and the outside rim 
soon separates, and the cancer comes out in a hard lump 
and the place heals up. The plaster kills the cancer, so 
that it sloughs like dead flesh, and never grows again. 
The remedy was discovered by Dr, Fell, of London, and 
has been used by him for six or eight years with unfail- 
ing success, and not a case has been known of the re- 
appearance of the cancer when this remedy has been 
applied. 

Cough Syrup, — Take equal parts of licorice, gum 
arable, sweet spirits of nitre, antimonial wine, and pare- 
goric ; dissolve the licorice and gum arable in a pint 
of boiling water, then add the rest, and mix. Dose : a 
wineglassful night and morning. 

Wild Cherry Bitters. — Boil a pound of wild cherry 
bark in a quart of water till reduced to a pint. Sweeten 
and add a little rum to preserve, or, if to be used im- 
mediately, omit the rum. Dose : a wineglassful three 
times a day, on an empty stomach. 

A Certain Cure for Drunkenness. — Sulphate of iron, 5 
grains ; magnesia, 10 grains ; peppermint water, 11 
drachms ; spirits of nutmeg, 1 drachm ; twice a day. 
This preparation acts as a tonic and stimulant, and so 
partially supplies the place of the accustomed liquor, 
and prevents that absolute physical and moral prostra- 
tion that follows a sudden breaking off from the use of 
stimulating drinks. 

Blackberyy Cordial.-- — To 1 quart of blackberry juice, 
add 1 pound of white sugar, 1 tablespoonful of cloves, 1 
of allspice, 1 of cinnamon, and 1 of nutmeg. Boil all 
together fifteen minutes ; add a wineglass of whisky, 
brandy, or rum. Bottle while hot, cork tight, and seal. 
This is almost a specific in diarrhoea. One dose, which 
is a wineglassful for an adult — half that quantity for a 
child — will often cure diarrhoea. It can be taken three 
9r four times a day if the case is severe. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 789 

Liniment for Burns. — Take equal parts of olive oil, 
fresh linseed oil, and lime water. Shake well together, 

Brown^s Bronchial Troches. — Take 1 pound of pulver- 
ized extract of licorice, 1\ pounds of pulverized sugar, 
4 ounces of pulverized cubebs, 4 ounces of pulverized 
gum arabic, and 1 ounce of pulverized extract of conium. 
Mix. 

Lip Salve. — Take 1 ounce of oil of almonds, \ ounce 
of spermaceti, and J drachm of prepared suet, with any 
simple vegetable coloring to fancy ; simmer these until 
thoroughly mingled ; as soon as taken off the fire, stir 
into the mixture three or four drops of tincture of cap- 
sicum, and when nearly cold, five or six drops of oil ol 
rhodium. 2. Take hog's lard, washed in rose-water, J 
pound ; red and damask rose leaves, bruised, \ pound j 
work them well together in a mortar, and let them lay 
two days ; then melt the lard, and strain it ; add to the lard 
the same quantity of rose leaves, let them lay two days, 
as before, simmer in a water-bath, and strain, stirring 
in five or six drops of otto of roses. Put into pots or 
boxes for use. This is a beautiful scarlet salve. 

Eye Water. — Take 1 pint of rose water, and add 1 tea- 
spoonful each of spirits of camphor and laudanum. Mix 
and bottle. To be shaken and applied to the eyes as 
often as necessary. Perfectly harmless. 



HAIE OILS, POMATUMS, «fec. 

Many persons object to using pomatums, oils, or any 
oily substance for their hair, as they consider it an inju- 
rious practice. So it is, if carried to excess, as it tends 
to stop up the pores of the skin through which the roots 
of the hair receive nourishment ; but, on the other hand, 
alcoholic preparations, which many advocate as substi- 
tutes for the former, are very far from being unobjection- 
able ; they keep the pores open, it is true, and the head 
clean, but they keep the hair in a state of dryness which 
is very injurious to it, more so by far than would ever be 
the result from the moderate use of a good pomatum or 



790 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

hair oil ; still we think that a mixtre of oil and alcohol 
is best, as combining the qualities of both, while the de- 
fects are mutually destroyed by the union. 

The following recipes embrace the best of each kind. 
They may be varied, however, to suit taste. The best 
materials should always be used, and care should be 
taken to see that the grease used is entirely free from 
rancidity or impurities. If intended for sale, they should 
be put up in neat bottles or boxes, with a tasty label. 
As all preparations for the hair have an immense sale, 
money can be readily made by the manufacture of a 
good article. 

To make the Whiskers (rrotc—Shave the beard at least 
three times a week, and use the following as a stimu- 
lant: cologne, 1 ounce ; alcohol, 1 pint^ castor oil, J pint-, 
oil of cloves, 20 drops ; oil of ber-gamot, 20 drops ; tinc- 
ture of cantharides, 2 ounces. 

Cosmetic Wash for the Hair. — Red wine, 1 pound; salt, 
1 drachm; sulphate of iron, 2 drachms; boil for a few 
minutes, and add common verdigris, 1 drachm; leave it 
on the fire 2 minutes; withdraw it, and add 2 drachms 
of powdered nutgall. Rub the hair with the liquid ;. in 
a few minutes dry it with a warm cloth, and afterwards 
wash with water. 

Oil of Boses for the Hair. ^Olive oil, 2 pints ; otto of 
roses, 1 drachm ; oil of rosemary, 1 drachm. Mix. It 
may be colored red by steeping a little alkanet root in 
the oil (with heat) before scenting it. It strengthens 
and beautifies the hair. 

Macassar Oil. — Olive oil, I pound ; oil of origanum, 1 
drachm ; oil of rosemary, 1\ drachms. Mix. Its tend- 
ency is to make the hair grow fast and to curl. 

Hard Pomatum. — Hard pomatum is made by melting 
slowly together 1 pound of prepared suet and 3 ounces 
of white wax, perfuming it with any favorite essential 
oil. 

Oil to Promote the Growth of the Hair. — Castor oil, J 
pint ; alkanet root, \ ounce ; oil of bergamot, 10 minims.; 
oil of cloves, 10 minims ; civet, \\ grains. The castor, 
oil must be gently heated ; when sufficiently hot, it 



THE HOME MECHANIC. '?'9l 

should be poured upon the alkanet root, which immedi- 
ately communicates its color„ It must then be strained, 
and, when cold, tho other ingredients are to be stirred 
into it This oil will not only promote the growth of the 
beard, whiskers, and moustaches in youths, but will also 
strengthen and improve the hair in every respect. 

Family Oil for the Hair, — Oil of sweet almonds, 1 gill ; 
spermaceti, \ ounce. Melt them together over the fire, 
first breaking the spermaceti into very small pieces. 
When cold, stir in a few drops of oil of bergamot, rubbed 
up with J grain of civet. 

Oil for the Hair. — A very excellent ready-made oil for 
the hair, which answers all common purposes, is made 
by mixing one part brandy with three parts of sweet oil. 
Add any scent you prefer. 

A Capital Pomade. — Dissolve thoroughly, over a slow 
fire, 2 ounces of white wax and i ounce palm oil, with 
a flask of the best olive oil. Stir it till nearly cold ; then 
add 1 ounce of castor oil, and about three pennyworth of 
bergamot, or any other perfume you please. 

Bandoline for the Hair. — This mixture is best made a 
little at a time. Pour a tablespoonful of boiling water 
on a dozen quince seeds, and repeat when fresh is re- 
quired. 

Oil to make the Hair Curl. — Olive, 1 pound ; oil of ori- 
ganum, 1 drachm; oil of rosemary, 1\ drachms. 

Rose Pomatum. — Melt 1 ounce of white wax with 1 
ounce of mutton suet, and add two ounces of sweet oil. 
Color the mass with alkanet, and perfume with oil of 
roses. 

Ox Pomatum. — Melt 4 ounces of ox marrow with 1 
ounce of white wax and 6 ounces of lard. Perfume the 
mass, when cooling, with oil of bergamot. 

Bears' Oil. — The best description of lard oil, properly 
perfumed, is far preferable to any other kind of oil. Per- 
fume as desired, but be sure to get a good, sweet article. 

To Increase the Growth of Hair and Cleanse the Head. — ■ 
Take a spoonful of hartshorn and three times the quan- 
tity of rain water, rub the head with the hand until it 
produces a lather, and dry it with a cloth. This gives 



7^2 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

the hair a soft and glossy appearance, and, if applied 
twice a week, will, in a short time, cause the hair to 
grow over bald places. Young gentlemen will find a 
benefit in using it on their whiskers, as it will make them 
grow soft and even. Excess in the use of it will pro- 
duce a contrary effect. 

Arnica Hair Wash. — When the hair is falling off and 
becoming thin, from the too frequent use of castor, 
Macassar oils, &c., or when premature baldness arises 
from illness, the arnica hair wash will be found of 
great service in arresting the mischief. It is thus 
prepared : take elder water, J a pint ; sherry wine, J a 
pint ; tincture of arnica, J an ounce , alcoholic ammonia, 
1 drachm — if this last-named ingredient is old, and has 
lost its strength, then two drachms instead of one may 
be employed. The whole of these are to be mixed in a 
lotion bottle, and applied to the head every night with a 
sponge. Wash the head with warm water twice a week. 
Soft brushes only must be used during the growth of the 
young hair. 

What causes the Hair to turn Gray. — It has been re- 
cently asserted that an undue proportion of lime in the 
system is the cause of premature gray hair, and we are 
advised to avoid hard water, either for drinking pure or 
when converted into tea, coffee, or soup, because hard 
water is strongly impregnated with lime. Hard water 
may be softened by boiling it ; let it become cold, and 
then use it as a beverage. It is also stated that a liquid 
that will color the human hair black, and not stain the 
skin, may be made by taking one part of bay rum, three 
parts of olive oil, and one part of good brandy, by meas- 
ure. The hair must be washed with the mixture every 
morning, and in a short time the use of it will make the 
hair a beautiful black, without injuring it in the least. 
The articles must be of the best quality, mixed in a bottle, 
and always shaken well before being applied. 

To Prevent Gray Hair. — When the hair begins to 
change color, the use of the following pomade has a bene- 
ficial effect in preventing the disease extending, and has 
the character of even restoring the color of the hair in 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 793 

many instances ; Lard, 4 ounces ; spermaceti, 4 drachms ; 
oxide of bismuth, 4 drachms. Melt the lard and sperma- 
ceti together, and when getting cold stir in the bismuth ; 
to this can be added any kind of perfume, according to 
choice. It should be used whenever the hair requires 
dressing. It must not he imagined that any good effect 
speedily results ; it is, in general, a long time taking 
place, the change being very gradual. 

Ammoniacal Pomatum for Promoting the Growth of Hair. 
— Take almond oil, J of a pound ; white wax, \ an 
ounce ; clarified lard, 3 ounces ; liquid ammonia, a J fluid 
ounce ; otto of lavender, and cloves, of each 1 drachm. 
Place the oil, wax, and lard in ajar, which set in boiling 
water ; when the wax is melted, allow the grease to cool 
till nearly ready to set, then stir in the ammonia and the 
perfume, and put into small jars for use. Never use a 
hard brush, nor comb the hair too much. Apply the 
pomade at night only. 

To Rem.ove Dandruff.— Take a thimbleful of powdered 
refined borax, let it dissolve in ateacupful of water, first 
brush the head well, then wet a brush and apply it to the 
head. Do this every day for a week, and twice a week 
for a few times, and you will effectually remove the 
dandruff. 

Pomade against Baldness. — Macerate a drachm of pow- 
dered cantharides in an ounce of spirits of wine. Shake 
it well during a fortnight, and then filter. Take ten 
parts of this tincture, and rub it with ninety parts of cold 
lard. Add a little essence of bergamot, or any other 
scent. Rub this pomade well into the head, night and 
morning. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, this apv 
plication, if continued, will restore the hair. Another 
receipt : Take of extract of yellow Peruvian bark, 14 
grains ; extract of rhatany root, 8 grains ; extract of 
burdock root, and oil of nutmegs (fixed), of each 2 
drachms ; camphor (dissolved with spirits of wine), 15 
grains ; beef marrow, 2 ounces ; best olive oil, 1 ounce ; 
citron juice, J a dra-chm ; aromatic essential oil, as much 
as sufi&cieni; to render it fragrant ; mix, and make into 
an ointment. Two drachms of bergamot, and a few drops 



704 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

of otto of roses would suffice. This is considered a valua- 
ble preparation for the hair, and is to be used as the 
above. 

Hair Invigorator. — Bay rum, 2 pints ; alcohol, 1 pint ; 
castor oil, 1 ounce ; carb. ammonia, J ounce ; tincture ol 
cantharides, 1 ounce. Mix them well. This compound 
will promote the growth of the hair and prevent it from 
falling out. 

Ro^e Pomatum. — Prepared lard, 16 ounces ; prepared 
suet, 2 ounces ; melt with a gentle heat, and add 2 ounces 
of otto of water, and 6 drops of otto of roses. Beat them 
well together, and pour into pots before it is cold. For 
making jessamine, violet, and orange pomade, put the 
same quantity of water, and one drachm of the required 
essence. 

Pomade for Beautifying the Hair. — Oil of sweet al- 
monds, 1 pint ; spermaceti, IJ ounces, purified lard, 2 
ounces ; melt gently, and, when nearly cold, add any 
agreeable scent, and pour into pots or wide-mouthed 
bottles. 

Bears^ (rrease (artificial). — Bears' grease is imitated 
by a mixture of prepared veal suet and beef marrow. 
It may be scented at pleasure. The following are some 
of the best compounds sold by that name : 

1.' Prepared suets, Bounces; lard, 1 ounce ; olive oil, 1 
ounce ; oil of cloves, 10 drops ; compound tincture of 
benzoin, I drachm. Mix. 

2. Lard, 1 pound ; solution of carbonate of potash, 2 
ounces. Mix. 

3. Olive oil, 3 pints ; white wax, 3 ounces ; spermaceti, 
1 ounce ; scent with oil of roses and oil of bitter almonds. 

Hard Pomai^wm.-^Beef suet, 16 ounces ; white wax, 1 
ounce ; with 1 drachm of oil of lavender or bergamot. 

2. Beef suet, 5 pounds ; white wax, 8 pounds ; sperm- 
aceti, 2 ounces ; oil of lavender, 1 ounce,- Mix. 

Colored Pomatums.— The coloring matter employed to 
color pomatums are anotta, alkanet, carmine, indigo, 
cobalt, umber, ivory-black, &c. 

Castor Oil Pomade. — Castor oil, 4 ounces ; white wax, 6 
drachms ; essence of bergramot. 2 drachms : oil of laven- 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 795 

der, 20 drops ; eau de Cologne, ^ drachm ; prepared lard, 
2 ounces. Mix. 

Crystalline Cream. — Oil of almonds, 8 ounces ; sperm- 
aceti, 1 an ounce ; melt together ; when a little cooled^ 
add \ an ounce of any desired essence. 

Circassian Cream. — 1 pint of olive oil ; 3 ounces white 
wax ; 2 ounces, spermaceti ; J ounce, of alkanet root. 
Digest the oil with the alkanet till sufficiently colored, 
strain, melt the wax and spermaceti with the oil, and, 
when sufficiently cool, add 2J drachms oil of lavender, 
drachm of essence of ambergies. 

Oil of Roses. — Fine olive oil, 1 pint ; otto of roses, 16 
drops. If required red, color with alkanet root, and 
strain before adding the otto. For common sale, es- 
sence of bergamot or of lemon is often substituted, 
wholly or in part, for the expensive otto. 

Marroio Oil. — Clarified beef marrow, or marrow po- 
matum, with enough almond or olive oil to bring it to 
the required consistency. 

Pomade de Jennesse. — Pomatum, mixed with magis- 
tery of bismuth. It is said lo turn the hair black. 

Chinese Depilatory (to remove superfluous hair). — 
Crystallized hydrosulphate of soda, 3 parts ; quicklime, 
in powder, 10 parts ; starch, 10 parts Mix. To be mixed 
with water, and applied to the skin, and scraped off in 
2 or 3 minutes, with a wooden knife. 

2. Quiciilime, 16 ounces ; pearlash, 2 ounces; reduce to 
fine powder and keep in a close bottle. Use as above. 

Pomade for False Curls. — Melt together, in an earthen 
pipkin, 24 ounces of Burgundy pitch and 8 ounces of 
white wax ; add 1 ounce of pomatum ; remove from the 
ire, and &,dd 4 ounces of brandy or other spirit ; replace 
t on the fire till it boils slightly, then strain through 
linen, adding bergamot or other perfume, and cast in 
molds. 

Treatment for Baldness. — A loosening of the hair fre- 
quently occurs in young persons, as well as those of the 
middle period of life ; this, if neglected, becomes real 
baldness. But, if proper treatment be pursued, the haii 
will grow afresh, and assume all its Dristin^ strength. 



'^^^ THE HOME MECHANIC. 

A useful practice in men, and those of the opposite sex 
whose hair is short, is to immerse the head in cold water 
morning and night, dry the hair thoroughly, and then 
brush the scalp until a warm glow is produced. In 
women with long hair this plan is objectionable, and a 
better one is to brush the scalp until redness and a 
warm glow are produced, then dab among the roots of 
the hair the following lotion : Vinegar of cantharides 
I an ounce ; eau de Cologne, 1 ounce ; rose water, 1 
ouncCo Mix. If the lotion produce smarting, or tender- 
ness, the brush may be l^id aside ; but if no sensation is 
occasioned, the brushing should be resumed, and a 
second application of the lotion be made. This treat- 
ment should be practiced once or twice a day, or at in- 
tervals of a few days, according to the state of the scalp ; 
namely, if tender, less ; if insensible, more frequently. 
When the baldness happens in patches, the skin should 
be well brushed with a soft tooth-brush, dipped in dis- 
tilled vinegar, morning and evening, or dipped in the 
lotion above mentioned,, If the lotion should have the 
effect of making the hair harsh and dry, this incon- 
venience may be removed by the use of oil or pomatum 
after each application of the lotion. 

Curling the Hair. — At any time you may make your 
hair curl the more easily by rubbing it with the beaten 
yolk of an egg, washed off afterwards with clear water, 
and then putting on a little pomatum before you put up 
your curiSo It is well always to go through this process 
when you change to curls, after having worn your hair 
plain. 

Black Pomatum (in sticks) c — Prepared lard, melted, 
with a third, in winter, and a half its weight in summer, 
of wax, and colored with powdered ivory-black, and 
strained through tammy, or any substance that will per- 
mit the fine particles of ivory-black to pass through. 
Stir it constantly, and when it begins to thicken, pour it 
into paper molds. 

Brown and Ghestimf Pomatums are prepared in the 
same way, but colored with umber, &c. 

Hair Restorative. — Take 1 drachm lac sulpbur, and \ 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 797 

drachm sugar of lead, and add 1 pint of rose-water. Use 
once a day (shaking- the bottle before using), and it will 
gradually change the hair dark ; it will also promote its 
growth. 

A Good Hair Oil. — Take 1 pint of castor oil and 1 pint 
of cocoa-nut oil, add | pint of alcohol, and perfume with 
oil of lemon and oil of bergamot. 

Rosemary Hair Oil:- — Take castor oil, 1 pint ; sweet oil, 
J pint ; lard oil, \ pint ; alcohol, a tablespoonful. Per- 
fumed with rosemary. 

Phalon^s Hair Oil. — Cocoanut oil. perfumed with oil oi 
almonds. 



HAIR DYES. 



1. Take 3 parts of litharge and 2 parts of quick 
lime, both in an impalpable powder and mix them care- 
fully. When used, a portion of the powder is mixed 
with hot water or milk, and applied to the hair, the part 
being afterwards enveloped in oil-skin for 4 or 5 hours. 

2. Litharge, 2 parts ; slaked lime, 1 part ; chalk, 2 
parts ; all finely powdered, and accurately mixed. 
When required for use, mix the powder with warm 
water, and dip a brush in the mixture, and rub the hair 
well with it. After 2 hours let the hair be washed. 

3. Mix 5 drachms of fresh slaked lime with IJ ounces 
of water; strain through silk, and bottle. Dissolve 5 
drachms of acetate of lead in sufficient water, and add 
enough slaked lime to saturate the acetate acid (a 
drachm), let it settle, pour off the supernatant liquor, 
tvash the precipitate with water, and add it to the milk 
:)f lime in the bottle. 

4. Sifted lime, 16 ounces ; white lead, 2 ounces ; 
litharge, in fine powder, 1 ounce ; mix well together and 
keep dry. To dye black, mix a little of the powder with 
water to the consistence of cream. To dye brown, use 
milk, instead of water. Apply with a small sponge to 
every hair. 

5. Litharge * ^ ounces ; quicklime, | ounce ; reduce 



798 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



to an impalpable powder, and pass it through a sieve. 
Keep it in a close bottle. When used, wash the hair 
with soap and water ; then with tepid water ; wipe it 
dry and comb with a clean comb. Mix the dye in a 
saucer, with hot water, to the consistence of cream, and 
apply it to the hair, beginning at the roots. Place over 
it four folds of brown paper, saturated with hot water, 
and drained till cool ; and over this an oil-skin cap and 
a nightcap. Let it remain 4 to 8 hours, according tc 
shade desired. When removed, oil the hair, but do not 
wet it for 3 or 4 days. 

6. Levigated litharge, 11 ounces ; powdered quick- 
lime, 75 ounces ; hair powder, 37 ounces. Mix, When 
used, a portion of the powder is mixed with warm water 
in a saucer, and applied to the hair with the fingers, 
taking care to cover the hair to the roots. Cover the 
whole with a sheet of cotton wadding moistened with 
water, and this with a folded cloth. Let it remain on 
for 3 hours, or, better, for the night. 

The following dyes are composed of solutions of nitrate 
of silver, and in applying them it should be remembered 
that they stain the sMn, as well as the hair. There is, 
therefore, more difficulty in applying them ; they are, 
however, thought to give a better color to the hair than 
the ones we have given above ; 

L Nitrate of silver, 11 drachms; nitric acid, 1 drachm; 
distilled water, 1 pint; sap green, 3 drachms; gum ara- 
ble, 1 drachm. Mix, 

2. Nitric acid, 1 drachm; nitrate of silver, 10 drachms; 
sap green, 9 drachms ; mucilage, 5 drachms; distilled 
water, 37 1 fluid ounces. 

3. Silver, 2 drachms; iron filings, 4 drachms; nitrio 
acid, 1 ounce; distilled water, 8 ounces; digest and 
decant the clocir solution. To be carefully applied with 
a close brush. 

4. Sulphuretum of potassse, 2 drachms; caustic of po- 
tassse, 1 drachm; nitrate of silver, crystallized, 1 drachmj 
tincture ^^ tcalla, 1 ounce. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 799 

THE TEETH AND GUMS. 

Great care should be taken of the teeth to prevent 
Aeir decaying, and to keep them free from dirt, which 
will injure the teeth, besides giving them an unsightly 
appearance. Some articles for the teeth, which are sold 
by unprincipled persons, contain powerful acids, to 
which they owe their power for removing dirt ; these 
should be avoided, as, while they clean the teeth, they 
destroy the enamel, and would, if used often, entirely 
eat away the tooth. 

The articles below are the best for the teeth, and are 
readily sold. 

TOOTH POWDER. 

General Directions. — The dry ingredients should be 
finely pulverized, and the whole well mixed ; which is 
best effected by agitating the powder in a bottle, and 
afterwards passing the whole through a sieve. Some 
ingredients are usually levigated, or ground with water, 
as prepared chalk, coral, &c. For children, only the 
ones which contain very soft powders should be allowed. 
The heavy carbonate of magnesia is very suitable for 
them. 

Tooth Powder. — Take powdered charcoal and white 
sugar, 1 ounce each ; Peruvian bark, J ounce ; cream of 
tartar, IJ drachms ; carnella, 24 grains. Rub them 
well together and pulverize in a mortar. The above 
powder will cleanse the teeth, strengthen the gums, 
sweeten the breath, and prevent the toothache. 

2. Take pumice stone and cuttle-fish bone, of each \ 
ounce ; vitriolated tartar and mastic, of each 1 drachm; 
oil of rhodium, 4 drops. Mix all into a fine powder 

Antiseptic Tooth Powder. — Prepared chalk, 2 ounces ; 
dry chloride of lime, 10 grains ; oil of cloves, 5 drops. 
Mix. It may be colored, if preferred, by a little leviga- 
ted bole. 

Antiscorbutic Tooth Powder. — Extract of rhatany, J 
ounce; prepared charcoal, 2 ounces* o— -—- -r>T;, J ounce; 
cloves, \ ounce. 



800 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Aromatic Tooth Powder — Calamus, 4 drachms ; char- 
coal, 1 drachm ; soap, 1 drachm ; oil of cloves, 12 drops. 

Asiatic Tooth Powder. — Prepared coral, 4 ounces ; Ve- 
netian red, 3 drachms ; ochre, 5 drachms ; pumice, 5 
drachms; musk, 1 grain. Mix. Or, bole, 3 parts; chalk, 
2 parts; ochre, 1 part; pumice, 1 part; musk to scent. 

GartwrigMs Dentrifrice. — Prepared chalk, 1 ounce; or 
ris, I ounce; castile soap, | drachm. 

Prepay^ed Charcoal. — The charcoal made in iron cylin 
ders, from willow, is preferredc It should be reduced 
to an impalpable powder, and kept from the air. 

Charcoal Tooth Powder. — Prepared charcoal, 1 ounce j 
prepared chalk, 3 ounces. 

Charcoal Tooth Powder — French. — Prepared charcoal, 
1 ounce; sugar, 1 ounce; oil of cloves, 3 drops. Mix. 

French Tooth Powder. — Peruvian bark, burnt crust of 
bread, and sugar, in equal proportions^ 

German Tooth Powder. — Peruvian bark, 6 drachms; 
red Sanders, 2 drachms; oil of cloves and berg-araot, each 
b drops. 

Myrrh Dentrifrice. — Myrrh, 1 ounce ; cuttle-fish bone, 4 
ounces; orris, 3 ounces. Mix. 

2. Myrrh, J ounce; cuttle-fish bone, prepared chalk, 
orris, of each 1 ounce; cassia, J ounce. Mix. 

Palmer's Tooth Powder. — Prepared chalk, 1 pound; 
camphor, 1 ounce; orris, 1 pound; cuttle-fish bone, 4 
ounces; rose pink, 1 ounce„ 

Rhatany Tooth Powder. — Rhatany root, 2 ounces; cut- 
tle-fish bone, 4 ounces; prepared chalk, 8 ounces'; borax, 
I drachm. 

Russian Tooth Powder. — Peruvian bark, 2 ounces; 
orris root, 1 ounce; sal ammoniac, \ ounce; catechu, 6 
drachms; oil of cloves, 6 or 8 drops. 

Violet Tooth Powder. — Orris root, 2 ounces; cuttle-fish 
bone, 4 ounces; precipitated chalk, 12 ounces; bicarbon- 
ate of soda, I ounce; essence of violets, 1 drachm; rose 
pink enough to give it a pale violet color. 

Barh Tooth Powder, — Charcoal, 4 parts; yellow bark, 
I part. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 801 

TOOTH PASTES. 

Any of the above powders can be formed into a paste 
with honey, clarified honey, or honey of roses. A little 
perfumed spirit may be added. A common objection to 
these pastes, is their liability to fermentation or effer- 
vescence. Some makers keep the paste in bulk for a 
considerable time, till the effervescence has entirely 
subsided, and then put it up in pots for sale. Others 
heat the honey, stir in the powders, and keep the mix- 
ture warm till any effervescence produced by the action 
of the acidity of the honey on the cretaceous powders 
has subsided. 

LIQUID PREPARATIONS FOR THE TEETH. 

Odoriferous Tincture of Myrrh. — Choice Turkey 
myrrh, Bounces; eau de Cologne, 1 quart; digest for 7 
days, and filter. 

2. To 18 fluid ounces of tincture of myrrh, add 2 ounces 
of essence of cologne (see Perfumery). If the tinc- 
ture should not be quite clear, add a grain or so of burnt 
alum, shake frequently, and filter in a day or two. 

Antiscorbutic Elixir. — Cinchona, 3 ounces; guaiacum, 
5 ounces; pellitory, 3 ounces; orange peel, 2 drachms; 
cloves, 5 drachms; safron, \ drachm; benzoin, 2 drachms; 
spirits of wine or brandy, 32 ounces; digest and filter. 

Extract of Pellitory — Pellitory root, 5 ounces ; cin- 
chona, 1 ounce; benzoin, 1^ drachms; essence of pepper- 
mint, 3 drachms; brandy 1 quart. 

Elixir of Roses. — Cloves, 1 drachm; cinnamon, 3 ounces; 
ginger, 2 ounces; spirits of wine, 2| pints; oil of orange, 
1 drachm; otto of roses, 15 drops; essence of peppermint, 
1 ounce. Mix. Digest 15 days, and filter. 

Eau de Bottot. — Aniseseed, 4 ounces ; cinnamon, 1 ounce ; 
cloves, 1 ounce; cochineal, 2 drachms; oil of mint, 2 
drachms; spirits of wine or brandy, 8 pounds; macerate 
8 days, and filter. 

Odontalgic Elixir — Pv^llitory root, 2 ouiLces; simple 
spirits of lavender, 16 ounces; muriate of ammonia, ^ 
drachm; digest 24 hours and filter.. 



802 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Dental Tincture. — Camphor, 4| ounces ; myrrh, 2 
ounces; rectified spirits, 36 fluid ounces; distilled water, 
8 ounces. 

JSau pour les Dents. — Cinnamon, 2 ounces; cloves, 6 
drachms ; fresh lemon peel, 1^ ounces; dried rose petals, 1 
ounce; scurvy grass, 8 ounces; spirits, 3 pounds; macer- 
ate 24- hours, and distil in a water bath. 

Elixir for the Teeth. — Fresh roots of horse-radish, fresh 
leaves of scurvy grass and mint, each 6 drachms ; guaia- 
cum, cinchona, pellitory, calamus, and rhatany, each 5 
drachms ; proof spirits, I quart ; macerate 16 days, 
and strain. 

French Elixir. — Rose water, 16 ounces; spirits of 
scurvy grass, 2 ounces ; tincture of galbanum, 1 ounce; 
color with cochineal. 

Lotion of Chlorinated Soda, for purifying the breath, 
cleansing the mouth, removing unpleasant odors, &c. 
Liquid chlorinated soda, 1 ounce; distilled water, 19 
ounces. Mix. A teaspoonful in a glass of water ; the 
same direction applies to most of the above. 

Tinctures for Toothache. — These are applied by mois- 
tening a little cotton wool or lint with the liquid, and 
introduced into the cavity of the decayed tooth. Where 
there is no cavity, they are sometimes applied to the 
gums surrounding the affected tootho Most of them are 
stated by their inventors to give " immediate relief." 
The cavity should be dried with lint before applying the 
remedy. 

1. Water of ammonia, with half the quantity of tinc- 
ture of opium; applied as above. 

2. Creosote. 1 drachm; spirits of camphor, 2 drachms. 
Creosote is also used alone» Camphor alone is also good. 

3„ Finely powdered alum, 1 drachm ; spirit of nitric 
ether, *I drachms. 

4. Bruised pellitory, J ounce j camphor, 3 drachms ; 
opium, 1 drachm ; oil of cloves, J drachm ; rectified 
spirit, 6 ounces. Digest ten days, and strain. 

6. Pellitory, ginger, cloves, camphor, of each one 
ounce ; tincture of opium, 4 ounces ; spirit of wine, 16 
ounces. Macerate eight days, and strain c 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 803 

6. Camphor, 1 drachm j ether, 4 drachms Dissolve 

7. Rectified spirit, 1 ounce j camphor, i ounce 5 opium. 
1 scruple } oil of cloves, 80 drops. 

8. Oil of rosemary, 2 ounces j tincture of galhanum, 
1 ounce. Mix. Cotton wet with this is to be intro- 
duced into ears. 

9. Alcohol, 4 drachms ; creosote, 6 drachms j tincture 
of cochineal, 2 drachms j oil of peppermint, 3 drops. 

PILLS, OR PASTES, FOR TOOTHACHES. 

1. Opium, 12 grains; cajeput oil, 4 drops; tincture of 
cantharides, 4 drops; extract of henbane and of bella- 
donna, each 24 grains; distilled water of opium, suffi- 
cient quantity. 

2. Powdered opium, 1 ounce ; mastic, 2 drachms ; 
sandarach, 2 drachms; drap;on's blood, J drachm; oil of 
rosemary, 8 drops; spirit of wine to form a paste. To 
be applied near the affected tooth. 

3. Powdered alum, 1 drachm ; powdered mastic, J 
drachm; spirit of nitric ether, sufficient to form a paste. 

4„ Opium, 5 grains; 'jil of cloves, 3 drops; extract of 
henbane, 5 grains ; '/xtract of belladonna, 10 grains j 
powdered pellitory, sufficient to form a paste. 

CEMENTS FOR FILLING TEETH. 

These are harder than the preceding, and intended to 
remain in the tooth for an indefinite time. They will 
often make the tooth almost " as good as new," and may 
enable a person to preserve his teeth, instead of having 
them extracted. In all cases the cavity in the tooth 
should be previously cleared from all extraneous mat- 
ters, and wiped perfectly dry with a piece of lint or 
blotting paper. 

1. Mix 12 parts of dry phosphoric acid with 13 parts 
of pure and pulverized quicklime. It becomes moist in 
mixing, in which state it is introduced into the cavity 
of the tooth, where it quickly becomes hard. 

2. Digest 9 parts of powdered masl^ * ' * parts of 



804 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ether, and add enough powdered alum to form a stifl 
paste. 

3. Outta-percha, softened by heat, is recommended. 
Dr. Rollfs advises melting a piece of caoutchouc at the 
end of a wire, and introducing it while warm. 

Metallic Cements. — Amalgams for the teeth are made 
with gold or silver, and quicksilver, the excess of the 
jatter being squeezed out, and the stiff amalgam used 
warm. Inferior kinds are made with quicksilver and 
tin, or zinCo A popular nostrum of this kind consists of 
40 grains of quicksilver and 20 of fine zinc filings, mixed 
at the time of using. The following is said to be the 
most lasting and least objectionable amalgam : Melt 2 
parts of tin with 1 of cadmium, run it into an ingot, and 
reduce it to filings. Form these into a fluid amalgam 
with mercury, and squeeze out the excess of mercury 
through leather. Work up the solid residue in the hand, 
and press it into the tooth. Another cement consists of 
about 73 parts of silver, 21 of tin, and 6 of zinc, amal- 
gamated with quicksilver. 

Poudre Metallique. — The article sold under this name 
in Paris appears to be an amalgam of silver mercury, 
2nd ammonium, with an excess of mercury, which is 
pressed out before using it. 



PERFUMERY. 



The too lavish use of pefumery of any kind should 
be avoided, as it shows a want of taste and refinement ; 
but it is only the excess that is improper. In moderate 
quantities perfumery is used by the most cultivated and 
genteel persons. 

The various kinds of eau de Cologne are the most 
popular and most generally used perfumes, but all these 
given in the following pages, have their admirers, and sell 
rapidly. They should be put up in fancy-shaped bottles, 
w.Uh white kid over the corks, or stopples, and be 
neatly labeled. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 895 

The spirit employed in perfumery should be selected 
with great care ; it should be perfectly free from " grain- 
oil " and other impurities. It should be 60 over-proof, 
unless otherwise directed. 

Essence of Lavender, — Essential oil of lavender, 3J 
ounces ; rectified spirit, 2 quarts ; rose-water, | pint ; 
tincture of orris, J pint. 

Lavender Water. — Oil of lavender, 4 ounces ; spirit, 
3 quarts ; rose-water, 1 pint. Mix and filter. 

Odoriferous Lavender Water. — Rectified spirit, 5 gal- 
Ions ; essential oil of lavender, 20 ounces ; oil of ber- 
gamot, 5 ounces : essence of ambergris, J ounce. 

2. Oil of lavender, 3 drachms ; oil of bergamot, 20 
drops ; nerolic, 6 drops ; otto of roses, 6 drops ; es- 
sence of cedrat, 8 drops ; essence of musk, 20 drops ; 
rectified spirit, 28 fluid ounces ; distilled water, 4 ounces. 

Eau de Cologne — Cologne Water. — Oil of lavender, oil 
of bergamot, oil of lemon, oil of neroli, each 1 ounce ; 
oil of cinnamon, \ ounce ; spirit of rosemary, 15 ounces ; 
highly rectified spirit, 8 pints. Let them stand 14 days, 
then distill in a water-bath, 

2. Essential oils of bergamot, lemon, neroli, orange* 
peel, and rosemary, each 12 draps^ ; c^rdamon seeds, 
1 drachm ; rectified spirit, 1 pint. It improves by age. 

Honey Water. — -Rectified spirit, 8 pints ; oil of cloves, 
oil of lavender, oil of bergamot, each J ounce ; musk, 
8 grains ; yellow sandus shavings,. 4 ounces ; digest for 
8 days, and add 2 pints, each of orange-flower and rose 
water. 

Otta of Roses. — Fill a large glazed earthen jar with 
rose leaves, carefully separated from the cups ; pour upon 
them spring water, just sufficient to cover them, and set 
the jar with its contents in the sun for two or three days, 
taking it under cover at night. At the end of the third 
or fourth day, small particles of yellow oil will be seen 
floating on the surface of the water, and which, in the 
course of a week, will have increased to a thin scum. 
The scum is the otto of roses ; take it up with a little 
cotton tied to the end of a stick, and squeeze it into a 
phial 



806 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Essence of Verbena Leaf . — Take rectified spirit of wine, 
\ pint ; otto of verbena, \ drachm \ otto of bergamot, 1 
drachm ; and tincture of tolu, \ ouncCc Mix them to* 
gether, and it is ready for use. This sweet scent does 
not stain the handkerchief and is very economical. 

Essence of Musk. — Take one pint proof spirit, and add 
two drachms musk. Let it stand a fortnight, with frequent 
agitation. 

A very pleasant Perfume and also Preventive against 
Moths. — Take of cloves, caraway seeds, nutmegs, mace, 
cinnamon, and Tonquin beans, of each 1 ounce ; then 
add as much florentine orris root as will equal the other 
ingredients put together. Grind the whole well to 
powder and then put it in little bags, among your 
clothes, &c. 

To extract the Perfume of Flowers. — Procure a quantity 
of the petals of any flower, which has an agreeable 
flavor : card thin layers of cotton wool, which dip into 
the finest Florence oil ; sprinkle a small quantity of fine 
salt on the flowers, and place layers of cotton and 
flowers, alternately, until an earthen, or wide-mouthed 
glass vessel is quite fulL Tie the top close with a 
bladder, and lay the vessel in a south aspect, exposed 
to the sun, and in fifteen days, when opened, a fragrant 
oil may be squeezed away from the whole mass ; little 
inferior (if roses are used), to the dear, and highly- 
valued otto, or odor -of roses. 

Lisbon Water. — To rectified spirit, 1 gallon, add es- 
sential oils of orange peel and lemon peel, of each 3 
ounces, and of otto of roses, J ounce. 

Queen of Hungary^s Water. — iSpirit of rosemary, 4 
pints ; orange-flower water, J pint ; essence of neroli, 
4 drops. 

Esprit de Bouquet. — Oil of lavender, oil of clores, 
and oil of bergamot, each 2 drachms ; otto of rose, and 
of oil cinnamon, each 20 drops; essence of musk, 1 
drachm; rectified spirits, I pint. Mix. 

Eau de Rosieres. — Spirits of roses, 4 pints; spirits of 
jessamine, 1 pint; spirits of orange flowers, Ipint; spirits 
of cucumber, 2 J pints; spirits of celery seed, 2 J pints; 



' THE HOME MECHANIC. 807 

spirits of angelica-root, 2| pints; tincture of benzoin, | 
of a pint; balsam of Mecca, a few drops. 

Eau de Violettes. — Macerate 5 ounces of fine orris root 
in a quart of rectified spirits, for some days, and filter. 

Spirits of Orange flowers, Spirits of Elder flowers, and 
Spirits of Acacia flowers. — Fresh flowers, 1 pound; recti- 
fied spirits, 4 pounds or pints; water, 2 pounds : distil 4 
pounds or pints. 

Spirits of Orange peel, or Lemon peel, of Citron, and of 
Bergamot. — Fresh peel, 1 pound; rectified spirits, 6 
pounds; macerate for 2 days, and distill in a water bath 
to dryness; or, 1 ounce of essential oil to 2 pints of 
spirits. 

ESSENCES. 

Essence of Neroli. — Spirits of wine, \ pint; orange 
peel, cut small, Bounces; orris root in powder, 1 drachm; 
musk, 2 grains; let it stand in a warm place for three 
days, and filter. 

Essence of Lemon. — Spirits of wine, | pint; fresh 
lemon-peel, 4 ounces; as above. 

Essence of Bergamot. — Spirits of wine, J pint; berga- 
mot peel, 4 ounces; as above. 

Essence of Violets. — Spirits of wine, J pint; orris root, 
1 ounce. 

Essence of Cedrat. — Essence of bergamot, 1 ounce; 
essence of neroli, 2 drachms. 

Essence of Musk. — Spirits of wine, | pint ; musk, 16 
grains. 

Essence of Ambergris, — Spirits of wine, J pint; amber- 
gris, 24 grains. 

Essence of Cloves. — Spirits of wine, J pint; bruised 
cloves, 1 ounce; other essences in the same manner. 

Essence for Smelling Bottles. — Oil of lavender and 
essence of bergamot, each 1 drachm; oil of orange peel, 
8 drops; oil of cinnamon, 4 drops; oil of neroli, 2 drops; 
alcohol and strongest water ©f ammonia, each 2 ounces. 

Perfumed Powder or Boxes and Drawers. — Coriander 
powder, Florentine orris powder, powdered rose leaves, 
powdered sweet-scented flag-root, of each 2 ounces; lav- 



808 THE HOME MECHANIC. • 

ender flowers, powdered, 4 ounces; musk, 1 scruple*, 
powder of sandlewood, 1 drachm. Mix, 

Pastilesfor Burning. — Benzoin, 2 ounces ; balsam of 
tolu, J ounce; laudanum, 1 drachm; yellow sanders, \ 
ounce; charcoal, 6 ounces; nitre, \ ounce ; mucilage of 
tragacanth sufficient to mix. Reduce the substances to 
powder and form into a paste with the mucilage, and 
divide into small cones with a tripod base. 

2. Benzoin, 1 ounce; cascarilla, 1 ounce; myrrh, 8 
scruples ; oil of nutmeg, 4 scruples ; oil of cloves, 4 scru- 
ples ; nitre, \ ounce; charcoal, 6 ounces; mucilage of 
tragacanth sufficient to mix. 

Incense. — Powdered cascarilla, 2 ounces; myrrh, sty- 
rax, benzoin, and Burgundy pitch, each 1 ounce. Mix. 

Mouth Fastiles,for .Perfuming the Breath. — Extract of 
licorice, 3 ounces ; oil of cloves, IJ drachms ; oil of 
cinnamon, 15 drops. Mix, and divide into one-grain 
pills, and silver them. 

2. Chocolate powder and ground coffee, each 1| ounce; 
prepared charcoal, 1 ounce ; sugar, 1 ounce ; vanilla 
(pulverized with the sugar), 1 ounce ; mucilage, suffi- 
cient to mix. Make into lozenges of any form, six or 
eight to be used daily, to disinfect the breath. 

3. Catechu, 1 drachms; orris powder, 40 grains; sugar, 
3 ounces; oil of rosemary (or of cloves, peppermint, or 
cinnamon), 4 drops. Mix, and roll flat on an oiled 
marble slab, and cut into very small lozenges. 

Chlorine Fastiles, for Disinfecting the Breath. — Dry 
chloride of lime, 2 drachms ; sugar, eight ounces ; 
starch, 1 ounce ; gum tragacanth, 1 drachm ; carmine, 
2 grains. Form into small lozenges. 

2. Sugar flavored with vanilla, 1 ounce ; powdered 
tragacanth, 20 grains; liquid chloride of soda sufficient 
to mix; add two drops of any essential oil. Form s 
paste, and divide into lozenges of 15 grains eack. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 809 



COSMETICS FOR THE SKIN 

As a general thing cosmetics of all kinds (except the 
most simple and harmless) should be avoided. Rouge 
and powders, although they may not be detected, cannot 
tail to injure the skin, whatever may be said to the con- 
trary. The articles below are the best of the kind, and 
most of them are the most harmless that can be made. 
These articles sell rapidly and at a handsome profit. 
They should be put in a tasty and attractive style. Of 
course we only refer to the rouges, powders, and power- 
ful cosmetics, as being dangerous, the simple washes, 
lotions, &c., are entirely innocent, and in many instances 
beneficial. 

Camphor Tablet, for chapped hands, &c. — Melt tallow, 
and add a little powdered camphor and glycerine, with 
a few drops of oil of almonds to scent. Pour in molds 
and cool. 

To Make the Complexion Fair. — Take emulsion of bitter 
almonds 1 pint ; oxymuriate of quicksilver 2J grains ; 
and sal ammonia 1 drachm. Use moderately for pim- 
ples, freckles, tanned complexions, or scurf on the skin, 
by means of a sponge, after washing the face or hands 
with soft soap and warm water. 

Lip Salves. — Take oil of almonds, 3 ounces ; sper- 
maceti, J ounce ; virgin rice, J an ounce. Melt these 
together, over a slow fire, mixing with them a little 
powder of alkanet root, to color it. Keep stirring till 
cold, and then add a few drops of the oil of rhodium. 

(2o) Take oil of almonds-, spermaceti, white wax, and 
white sugar candy, equal parts. These form a good 
white lip salve. 

Compound Cosmetic Oil. — Take oil of sweet almonds 
4 ounces ; oil of tartar per diliquium, 2 ounces ; oil of 
rhodium 4 drops ; mix the whole together, and use it to 
cleanse and soften the skin. 

An Excellent Recipe. — Take a pint of cream, infuse into 
vt a few water lilies, bean flowers, and roses. Simmer 
tfie wkole together in a vapor bath, and keep the oil that 



810 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

proceeds from it in a phial, which is to be left for some 
time exposed to the evening dew. 

Sultana Unguent, for Preserving and Beautifying the 
Skin. — Take a J of a fluid ounce, each, of tincture of tolu; 
tincture of benzola, and tincture of balsam of Peru, and 
gradually mix with them a J of a pint of distilled elder 
water, when a milky emulsive fluid will be the result. 
Then have, ready melted in a basin, J an ounce of virgin 
wax and spermaceti, together with a J of a pound of 
almond oil — this is best done by placing the ingredients 
in a basin set on to a small saucepan of boiling water, 
thus to melt the materials by steam. Finally, the tinc- 
ture and watjer mixture is to be gradually poured into 
the basin of oil, sperm, &c., beating the mixture rapidly 
with a fork, so as to insure perfect blending of all the 
ingredients. When finished, the unguent assumes a 
beautiful snow-white creamy consistency, which finally 
sets when quite cold. To whiten the hands, rub them 
over with the sultana unguent on going to bed, and sleep 
in an old pair of kid gloves. To prevent wrinkles and 
preserve the skin, apply the unguent at night, washing 
it off" in the morning with cold cream soap„ There is 
scarcely a wound, bruise, or skin-blotch but what it may 
be applied to with ' ' safety and with succor." 

Certain Cure for Eruptions, Pimples, &c. — Having in 
numberless instances seen the good effects of the follow- 
ing prescription, 1 can certify to its perfect remedy • 
Dilute corrosive sublimate with the oil of almonds, apply 
it to the face occasionally, and in a few days a cure will 
be 65*6 cted 

To Whiten the Hands. — Stir a J of a pound of Castile 
soap, and place it in a jar near the fire, pour over it \ 
a pint of alcohol ; when the soap is dissolved and mixed 
with the spirit, add 1 ounce of glycerine, the same of oil 
of almonds, with a few drops of essence of violets, or otto 
of roses, then pour it into molds to cool for use. 

Pimpular Diseases, Black Spots, Flesh Worms, etc. — 
These specks, when they exist in any number, are a 
cause of much unsightliness. They are minute corks, if 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 811 

we may use the term, of coagulated lymph, which close 
the orifices of some of the pores or exhalent vessels of 
the skin. On the skin immediately adjacent to them 
being pressed with the finger nails, these bits of coagu- 
lated lymph will come from it in a vermicular form. 
They are vulgarly called " flesh worms," many persons 
fancying them to be living creatures. These may be got 
rid of and prevented from returning, by washing with 
tepid water by proper friction with a towel, and by the 
application of a little cold cream. The longer these 
little piles are permitted to remain in the skin the more 
firmly they become fixed ; and after a time, when they 
lose their moisture they are converted into long bony 
spines as dense as bristles, and having much of that 
character. They are known by the name of spotted 
achne. With regard to local treatment, the following 
lotions are calculated to be serviceable : 1. Distilled rose- 
water, 1 pint ; sulphate of zinc, 20 to 60 grains. Mix. 

2. Sulphateof copper, 20 grains ; rose-water, 4 ounces ; 
water, 12 ounces. Mix. 

3 Oil of sweet almonds, 1 ounce ; fluid potash, 1 
drachm. Shake well together, and then add rose-water, 
1 ounce ; pure water, 6 ounces. Mix. The mode of 
using these remedies is to rub the pimples for some 
minutes with a rough towel, and then dab them with thff 
lotion. 

Hudson's Cold Cream. — Oil of almonds, 2 ounces ; 
white wax, and spermacti, 1 drachm each ; melt, and 
while warm, add rose-water, 2 ounces, and orange flower 
water, J ounce. 

To Cure Freckles. — Take 2 ounces of lemon-juice ; J 
drachm of powdered borax, and 1 drachm of sugar. Mix 
together, and let them stand in a glass bottle for a few 
days, then rub it on the hands and face occ«,sionally. 

Milk of Roses. — Bitter almonds, 6 drachms ; sweet al- 
monds, 12 drachms ; blanch, dry, and beat up with 1 
drachm of castile soap ; gradually adding 15 grains of 
spermaceti ; 30 grains of white wax, and 1 drachm of 
oil of almonds j melted together. When thoroughly ii;i« 



812 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

corporated, add gradually 6 drops of otto of roses, dis 
solved in 6 ounces of proof spirit, and 14 ounces of dis* 
tilled water. 

2. A common kind is made by mixing 1 ounce of fine 
olive oil with 10 drops of oil of tartar, and a pint of 
rose-water. 

Milk of Cucumbers. — As milk of roses, No. 1, subst- 
luting juice of cucumbers for the rose-water. 

Freckle Lotion. — Muriate of ammonia, 1 drachm; spring 
water, 1 pint; lavender-water, 2 drachms ; apply with 
a sponge 2 or 3 times a day. 

Pate Divine de Venus. — Mix equal parts of washed 
lard, fresh butter, and white honey; add balsam of Mecca 
and otto of roses to perfume. 

Pomade en Greme. — Melt together 1 drachm each 
of white wax and spermaceti, and add oil of sweet 
almonds, 2 ounces; pour it into a warm mortar, and 
gradually stir in ounce of rose or other perfumed 
water, and 1 drachm of tincture of tolu. 

Camphor Balls, for rubbing on the hands to prevent 
chaps, &c. Melt 3 drachms of spermaceti, 4 drachms of 
white wax, and 1 ounce of almond oil ; stir in 3 drachms 
of powdered camphor. Pour the compound into small 
gallipots, so as to form small hemispherical cakes. 
They may be colored with alkanet, if preferred. 

2. Lard, 2 ounces; white wax, 2 ounces; camphor, ^ 
ounce. 

Camphor Ice. — Melt 1 drachm of spermaceti with 1 
ounce of almond oil, and add 1 drachm of powdered 
camphor. 

Grape Lip Salve. — Put into an earthen pipkin J pound 
of fresh butter, J pound of fine yellow wax, 1 ounce of 
alkanet, and 3 bunches of black grapes ; boil together, 
and strain without pressure, through linen. 

French Lip Salve. — Lard, 16 ounces; white wax, 2 
ounces; nitre and alum in fine powder, each J ounce; 
alkanet to color. 

German Lip Salve — Butter of cocoa, J ounce; oil of 
almonds, J ounce ; melt together with a gentle heat, and 
add 6 drops of essence of lemon. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 813 



FACE PAINTS. 



f^ine Carmine (.prepared from cochineal) is used alone, 
or deduced with starch, &c. And also the coloring mat- 
ter o*safflower, and other vegetable colors, in the from 
of pink saucers, &c. 

Rouge. — Mix vermilion with enough gum tragacantb 
dissolves in water, to form a thin paste; add a fewdropa 
of almond oil, place the mixture in rouge pots, and dry 
by a very gentle heat. 

Turkish Rouge. — Take | pint of alcohol, and 1 ounc& 
of alkanet; macerate 10 days, and pour off the liquid, 
which should be bottled. This is the simplest and one? 
of the best articles of the kind. 

Almond Bloom. — Boil 1 ounce of Brazil dust in 3 pints 
distilled water, and strain; add 6 drachms of isinglass, 
2 drachms of cochineal, 1 ounce of alum, and 8 drachms 
of borax ; boil again, and strain through a fine cloth. 

Face Whites. — French chalk is one of the most inno- 
cent; finely powdered. White starch is also used. 

Face Fowder. — Starch, 1 pound; oxide of bismuth, 4 
ounces. 

Caution. — White lead, and all cosmetic powders con- 
taining it, should never be applied to the skin, as it is 
the most dangerous article that could be used. 



COMMON AND FANCY SOAPS. 

Genuine Evasive Soap. — 2 pounds of good Castile soap ; 
I pound of carbonate of potash ; dissolved in | pint hot 
water. Cut the soap in thin slices, boil the soap with the 
potash until it is thick enough to mould in cakes ; also, 
add alcohol, \ ounce ; camphor, J ounce ; hartshorn, J 
ounce ; color with \ ounce pulverized charcoal. 

To Make Good Soap. — To make matchless soap, take I 
gallon of soft soap, to which add 1 gill of common salt, 
and boil an hour. When cold, separate the ley from the 
crude. Add to the crude 2 pounds of sal soda, and boil 
in 2 gallons soft water till dissolved. If you wish it 



814 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

better, slice 2 pounds of common bar soap, and dissolve 
in the above. If the soft soap makes more than 3 pounds 
of crude, add in proportion to the sal soda and water. 

Labor-saving Soap. — Take 2 pounds of sal soda. 2 
pounds of yellow bar soap, and 10 quarts of water. Cut 
the soap in thin slices, and boil together two hours ; 
strain, and it will be fit for use. Put the clothes in soak 
the night before you wash, and to every pail of water in 
•Which you boil them, add a pound of soap. They will 
need no rubbing ; merely rinse them out, and they will 
be perfectly clean and white. 

Chemical Soap, for Taking Oil, Greese, etc., from Cloth. 
' — Take 5 pounds Castile soap, cut fine ; 1 pint alcohol; 
1 pint soft water ; 2 ounces aqua fortis ; 1 J ounce lamp- 
back ; 2 ounces saltpetre ; 3 ounces potash ; 1 ounce 
camphur, and 4 ounces cinnamon, in powder. First dis- 
solve the soap, potash, and saltpetre, by boiling ; then 
add all the other articles, and continue to stir until it 
cools ; then pour into a box and let it stand twenty-four 
hours and cut into cakes. 

To make Hard Soap from Soft. — Take t lbs. good soft 
soap ; 4 lbs. sal soda ; 2 ounces borax ; 1 ounce harts- 
horn ; I lb. rosin, to be dissolved in 22 quarts of water, 
and boiled about twenty minutes. 

Soap from Yolk of Egg. — M. Manny, a pharmacien, of 
Valence, in Dauphiny, has introduced into commerce, 
with considerable success, a soap made from yolk of 
e^g, which is spoken highly of, its price being the only 
objection to its general use. There have been already 
10,000 kilogrammes disposed of. This soap is of a yel- 
low color and firm consistence, having an odor by no 
means disagreeable. It dissolves readily in any water, 
and cleans as well as the best Marseilles soap. 

Cosmetic Soap, for Washing the Hands. — Take a pound 
of Castile soap, or any other nice old soap ; scrape it fine ; 
put it on the fire with a little water ; stir it to a smooth 
paste ; turn it into a bowl ; when cold, add some laven- 
der water, or any kind of essence ; beat it with a silver 
spoon till well mixed ; thicken it with Indian meal, and 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 815 

keep it in small pots, closely covered ; exposure to the 
air will harden it. 

Gold Soap. — Mix 26 pounds of melted and strained 
grease with .4 pailfuls of ley, made of 20 pounds ot 
white potash. Let the whole stand in the sun, stirring 
it frequently. In the course of the week, fill the barrel 
with weak ley. 

Bayberry, or Myrtle Soap. — Dissolve 2 J pounds of 
white potash in 5 quarts of water, then mix it with 10 
pounds of myrtle wax, or bayberry tallow. Boil the 
whole over a a slow fire till it turns to soap, then add 
a teacup of cold water ; let it boil ten minutes longer ; 
at the end of that time, turn it into tin moulds or pans, 
and let them remain a week or ten days to dry ; then 
turn them out of the moulds. If you wish to have the 
soap scented, stir into it an essential oil that has an 
agreeable smell, just before you turn it into the moulda 
This kind of soap is excellent for shaving, and for 
chapped hands ; it is also good for eruptions on the face. 
It will be fit for use in the course of three or four weeks 
after it is made, but it is better for being kept ten or 
twelve months. 

Whale-Oil Soap. — For the destruction of insects : Ren- 
der common lye caustic, by boiling it at full strength on 
quicklime ; then take the lye and boil it with as much 
whale oil foot as it will saponify (change to soap), pour 
off into molds, and, when cold, it is tolerably hard. 
Whale oil foot is the sediment produced in refining 
whale oil, and is worth $2 per barreL 

Lemon Wash Balls. — Cut 6 pounds of soap into very 
small pieces ; melt it with a pint of water in which 6 
Jemons have been boiled. When melted, withdraw the 
soap from the fire, and add 3 pounds of powdered starch, 
and a little essence of lemon. Knead the whole into a 
paste, and form into balls of the desired size. 

Cream Wash Balls. — White curd soap, 7 pounds j 
powdered starch, 1 pound ; water or rose water sufficient 
to mix. Beat the whole together, and form into balls. 

Camphor Wash Balls. — White soap, 1 pound; sperma- . 



81 6 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ceti, 1 ounce ; water sufficient to mix; melt together, and 
add 1 ounce of powdered camphor. 

Shaving Paste. — Melt together 1 drachm each of 
spermaceti, white wax, and almond oil ; .beat it up with 
2 ounces of the best white soap, and add a little laven- 
der or cologne water. ^ 

Shaving Liquid. — White soap, 3 ounces; proof spirit, 
8 ounces; distilled water, 4 ounces; carbonate of pot- 
ash, 1 drachm; scented with essence of lemon. Dissolve 
the soap without heat, and add the potash and essence. 

2. White soft soap, 16 ounces ; oil of olives, J ounce; 
gum benzoin, 1 drachm ; rectified spirit, 24 ounces. 
Digest. Rub a few drops on the beard, followed by 
warm water. 

The Famous Chemical Washing Recipe. — Take a J of 
a pound of soap, a J of a pound of soda, and 
a J of a pound of quicklime. Cut up the soap, 
and dissolve it in 1 quart of boiling water ; pour 
1 quart of boiling water over the soda, and 3 quarts 
of boiling water upon the quicklimCc The lime must 
be quick and fresh ; if it is good, it will bubble up 
on pouring the hot water upon it. Each must be 
prepared in separate vessels. The lime must settle so 
as to leave the water on top perfectly clear ; then strain 
it carefully (not disturbing the settlings) into the wash- 
boiler with the soda and soap ; let it scald long enough 
to dissolve the soap ; then add 6 gallons of soap water. 
The clothes must be put in soak over night, after rub- 
bing soap upon the dirtiest parts of them. After having 
the above in readiness, wring out the clothes which have 
been put in soak, put them on to boil, and let each lot 
boil half an hour ; the same water will answer for the 
whole washing. After boiling each lot half an hour, 
drain them from the boiling water, put them in a tub, 
and pour upon them two or three pailfuls of clear, hot 
water ; after this they will want but very little rubbing; 
Ihen rinse them through two waters, bluing the last. 
When dried, they will be a beautiful white. After 
washing the cleanest part of the white clothes, take 2 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 817 

pails of the suds in which they have been washed, put 
it over the fire and scald, and this will wash all the 
flannels and colored clothes, without any extra soap. 
The white flannels, after being well washed in the suds, 
will require to be scalded by turniug on a teakettle o\ 
boiling water. 

To Preserve Grease. — Boil all the scraps, rinds, and 
bones, in a weak ley, and the purer grease in clear 
water. Let the mixture cool, take ofi*the cake of grease, 
and strain it. It is well to do this occasionally, as you 
save it; for when kept a long time, impure grease 
becomes offensive. You must be careful to dry off all 
the water before laying it away in your grease tub, if 
you wish it to keep sweet. 

Hard White Soap. — ^To 15 pounds of lard, or suet, 
made boiling hot, add slowly 6 gallons of hot ley, or 
solution of potash, that will bear up an egg high enough 
to leave a piece big as a shilling, bare. Take out a lit- 
tle, and cool it. If no grease rise, it is done. If any 
grease appears, add ley, and boil till no grease rises. 
Add 3 quarts of flne salt, and boil up again. If this does 
not harden well on cooling, add more salt. If it is to be 
perfumed, melt it next day, add the perfume and run it 
in moulds, or cut in cakes. 

To Make Lye. — Have a large tub, or cask, and bore a 
hole on one side, for a tap, near the bottom ; place 
several bricks near the hole, and cover them with straw 
Fill the barrel with strong wood ashes. Oak ashes are 
strongest ; and those of apple-tree wood make the 
whitest soap. Pour on boiling water until it begins to 
run, then put in the tap and let it soak. If the ashes 
settle down as they are wet, flll in until full. 

White Lye. — This is made by pouring a pailful of boil- 
ing water over 4 or 5 quarts of ashes. Let it stand a 
while to infuse ; then pour in cold water to settle it, 
when you can pour it off clear. This is very good to 
boil dirty clothes in. When made nice, is equal to soda, 
and does not, unless made extremely strong, injure the 
clothes. 



818 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

MEDICAL HERBS, ROOTS, &c. 

We are not among those who believe that herba 
will cure everything, and are to be preferred to a physi* 
cian's aid, but we think for all simple complaints, a 
preparation of barks or herbs, is to be preferred to more 
powerful remedies, as they are more harmless, and do 
not injure the system, as too much of the other pre* 
scriptions sometimes do. 

The list we give below will be found to embrace the 
most important ones. For the manufacture of Bitters, 
a selection may be made from the list, and boiled down 
to a syrup with sugar. A little rum may be added to 
preserve. 

Sassafras. — It is an aromatic or pleasant tonic. Sas- 
safras, prickly ash, dogwood, and American gentian, 
make as powerful and as pleasant a bitter as the foreign 
gentian, Colombo, Peruvian bark, cloves, and cinnamon, 
that we buy at the drug store. 

Mandrake, or May Apple. — Needs no description. It 
is an excellent purgative, in doses from ten to thirty 
grains, or double that quantity, in a gill of water, or 
equal quantities of the mandrake juice and molasses 
may be mixed, and a tablespoonful taken every hour 
or two till it operates. The Indians gather the root 
in autumn, when the leaves turn yellow, dry it in th^ 
shade, and pulverize it for use. 

Wintergreen, — It is useful in spasmodic asthma, in 
urinary, and in female weaknesses. It relieves cramp 
from wind in the stomach, and the juice boiled with 
sweet oil, wax and turpentine, makes a salve, which i» 
used to heal wounds. 

Gomfrey. — ^Boiled in milk, is excellent in the dysentry, 
bowel complaints, immoderate courses, and other dis* 
eases. It is beneficial in all cases attended with burn- 
ing heat in urinary evacuationSo A poultice of the 
pounded root is good for wounds and inflammatory 
swellings. 

Tansy — Relieves hysterical affections. A wine-gla8& 



THE HOiME MECHANIC. 819 

ful of tansy juice will throw off an ague fit, if taken 
a few minutes before the attack. 

Wild Turnip. — Its virtues are destroyed by drying, and 
by too much pounding. To use it as a medicine it should 
be scraped, and mixed with something oily, sweet, and 
mucilaginous. It is useful to old people, in cases ot 
asthma, coughs, &c. It is good for women who are not 
regular, and a decoction of the root is used for eye-wa- 
ter. 

Rhubarb Root. — It is generally cultivated in our gar- 
dens for the sake of the stalks, which are made into ex- 
cellent pies ; the root, however, is of great efficacy in 
some diseases. Six to ten grains are astringent ana 
strengthening to the stomach. In larger doses, from a 
scruple to half a drachm, it is first purgative, and then 
astringent It is, therefore, an excellent medicine for 
diarrhoea and dysentery, because it evacuates any acrid 
matter that may be offending the bowels, before it acts 
as an astringent. 

Dysentery. — In diseases of this kind, the Indians use 
the roots and leaves of the blackberry bush — a decoc- 
tion of which in hot water, well boiled down, is taken 
in doses of a gill before each meal, and before retiring 
to bed. It is an almost infallible cure. 

Burdock. — Operates gently on the bowels, sweetens 
the blood, promotes sweat and urine, and is used in 
rheumatic, scorbutic, and venereal diseases. Dose of 
the juice, a wineglassful ; of the decoction, half a pint 
three times a day. 

Fever-few, Feather-few — Is an aromatic tonic. A de- 
coction of the herbs, in hysterics and other female com- 
plaints, may be used to advantage. 

Chamomile. — A warm decoction of the flowers in large 
quantities will act as an emetic ; in small doses, taken 
cold, it is an excellent tonic to strengthen the stomach. 

Blue Flag. — Grows by the brink of rivers, in swamps, 
and meadows ; blossoms in July, blue flowers, varigat- 
ed with white, yellow, and purple. A teaspoonful of 
the juice, diluted with water, is an active cathartic, and 



820 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

the decoction for constant drink is used in venereal con> 
plaints. 

Oak of Jerusalem or Wbrmseed. — This is a vermifuge 
or anthelmintic medicine, that is good to destroy worms. 
A tablespoonful of the juice of the plant expressed or 
squeezed out is a dose. The seed may be boiled in 
milk ; give a wineglassful. Or one or two teaspoonfuls 
of the seed itself may be mixed with molasses or honey, 
and given to a child two or three years old, on an empty 
stomach, twice a day and continued several days. 

Ladies^ Slipper. — Is well known. A decotion of the 
root is a febrifuge (a remedy for fever), and a fine reg- 
ulating medicine in female complaints. 

American Senna. — Grows well in this country, is very 
easily raised from the seeds, and ought to be cultivated 
in every garden. It is well known as a physic for 
children ; a handful of the leaves to a pint of hot water, 
and a teacupful or less every hour or two. till it oper- 
ates. 

Charcoal of Wood. — In fifteen or sixteen cases of 
obstinate constipation of the bowels. Dr. Daniel, of 
Georgia, administered three tablespoonfuls of pulverized 
charcoal every half hour, and in about seventeen hours 
the bowels were freely evacuated. It is slow, but sure. 
A tablespoonful two or three times a day will remove 
costiveness. In smaller doses it corrects bad breath, 
and prevents putrid belching of wind from the stomach. 
It is a powerful antiseptic, or anti-mortification remedy. 

Sweet Fern. — Grows in woods and stony places, flow- 
ers from June to October, and is well known. It is a 
powerful medicine to expel the tapeworm, in the dose of 
a pint a day of the decotion, or one or two teaspoonfuls 
of the powder ; to be followed on the fifth day by a dose 
of some kind of physic. It is also good in chronic 
rheumatism, and a wash of it is considered beneficial in 
St. Anthony's fire, and other cutaneous affections. 

Horse-Eadish. — This is an anti-scorbutic and stimulat- 
ing medicine. It may be taken either in substance or 
infused in wine, for the scurvy, dropsy, palsy, chronic 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 821 

rheumatism, &c. An infusion of horse-radish in milk is 
the best cosmetic for the ladies, and, steeped in vinegar, 
it removes freckles from the face. 

Blackberry . — The berry, when ripe, is known to oe 
pleasant and wholesome, and two handfuls of the root, 
in three pints of milk or water, boiled down to a quart, 
in the dose of a tea-cupful every two or three hours, has 
often cured diarrhoea and dysentery, when the apothe- 
cary^s medicine has failed. 

Dandelion. — A decoction of dandelion will correct an 
unhealthy state of the stomach and liver, and procure 
an appetite. It is diuretic, and very beneficial in jaun- 
dice. Given in the form of extract, in from three to 
five-grain doses, three times a day, and continued for a 
long time, has the happiest effect upon the liver when 
its disease has assumed a chronic form. The best way 
of preparing it, is to gather the roots in August and 
September, press out the juice, and evaporate in shallow 
dishes exposed to a dry, warm air. 

Gold Thread. — The root chewed is good for canker, 
or other sore mouth ; and prepared by decoction, as a 
gargle in sore throat. The tea is useful in cases oi 
general debility, and loss of appetite.. 

Wild Cherry — The Bark and Fruit — The bark of the 
tree and kernels of the cherry contain a great deal of 
Prussic Acid, to which their medicinal virtues are to 
be attributed. The bark is a very powerful antiseptic, 
and is very useful in the preparation of dentifrice.. It 
is also useful in Diarrhoea, Jaundice, and for worms. 
Generally taken in infusion, an ounce of the powder to 
a quart of boiling water. The Cherries also are used in 
medicine, and may be employed with, or without peach 
'kernels. They are useful as a tonic and a remedy for 
indigestion, and particularly as a restorative for conva- 
lescents from Dysentery. Made in a syrup ; or bruised, 
and given in decoction. 

Witch Hazel. — ^A tea of the leaves and bark is useful 
to wash putrid sores ; and it will remove that diseased 
OT dead substance known as ** Proud Flesho" For this 



822 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

purpose a poultice should be made of a strong infusion ; 
applied to the sore, or it may be washed gently with the 
tea. 

Red Raspberry. — This also is an astringent. A tea 
made of the leaves is an excellent remedy for the bowel 
complaints of children. A little of the Bark of Slipperjj 
Elm improves its efficacy. It should also be given in 
the form of an injection. The tea is used as a wash and 
gargle; and if drank freely it has a good effect in a 
cankerous state of the mouth, throat, and stomach. 

Yellow Dock Root. — This is one of the most valuable 
remedies known in disease of the Skin. The best prep- 
aration is to bruise the fresh roots in a mortar, and 
add cream, or fresh butter, enough to make an ointment; 
and it. may also be taken internally at the same time, 
either in decoction or combined, with such articles as 
are useful for the internal treatment of bad humors, and 
scrofulous conditions of the system. It is a certain 
and safe remed^ for the troublesome disease known as 
the Itch. 

Golden Seal Root. — This is an admirable remedy in 
case of dyspepsiao A half teaspoonful of the powder, 
with a half teacupful of boiling water, taken immedi- 
ately after eating, when the food distresses one, often 
gives relief. It is an article in the " Spiced Bitters." 

Balmony Herb, — -This is a tonic and laxative, and is 
employed to good advantage in Jaundice, Dyspepsia, 
Diseases of the Liver, Loss of Appetite, and General 
Debility. It enters into the composition of " Spiced 
Bitters." 

Elder. — An infusion of Elder-flowers is good for fever- 
ishness and sore mouth in children. Add a pint of boil- 
ing water to a tablespoonful of the flowers. 

The inner bark with cream, fresh butter, or sweet oil, 
makes a nice cooling ointment for burns, and other 
inflamed sores. 

American Poplar Bark. — A tea made of the bark is 
very useful in cases of debility, especially those of long 
standing, and also for feeble digestion, worms, and a 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 823 

diseased condition of the urinary organs. Consumptive 
peopre have received great benefit from its employment. 
It is an ingredient in the " Spiced Bitters" of Botanical 
physicians. 

POPULAR BEVERAGES. 

Sarsaparilla Mead. — 1 pound of Spanish sarsaparilla; 
boil 5 hours, so as to strain off 2 gallons ; add 16 pounds 
of sugar, and 10 ounces of tartaric acid. Half a wine- 
glass of syrup to half pint tumbler of water, and one half 
teaspoonful of soda powder, is a fair proportion for a 
drink. 

Delicious Saline Draughts. — Take 20 grains of carbon- 
ate of soda, and an equal quantity of white sugar, 25 
grains of either lemon or tartaric acid ; mix this in 2 
glasses of water, as usual. If you substitute half a 
lemon for the acid, it will be a still more delicious draught 
and very refreshing in hot weather, or when feverish. 

Ginger Wine. — Boil together for half an hour, 7 quarts 
of water, 6 pounds of sugar, 2 ounces of the best ginger, 
bruised, and the rinds of three good-sized lemons. 
When lukewarm put the whole into a cask, with the 
juice of the lemons, and J of a pound of sun raisins ; add 
1 teaspoonful of new yeast, and stir the wine every day 
for ten days. 

Cheap Ginger Beer. — Put into any vessel 1 gallon of 
boiling water, 1 pound of common loaf sugar, 1 ounce of 
cream of tartar, or else a lemon sliced. Stir them up 
until the sugar is dissolved, let it rest until about as 
warm as new milk, then add 1 tablespoonful of good 
yeast, poured on to a bit of bread put to float on it. 
Cover the whole over with a cloth, and suffer it to remain 
undisturbed twenty-four hours, then strain it, and put it 
into bottles, observing not to put more in them than will 
occupy three-quarters of their capacity, or, as we 
usually say, three-quarters full. Cork the bottles well, 
and tie the corks, and in two days, in warm weather, it 
will be fit to drink. If not to be consumed till a week 



624 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

or a fortnight after it is made, a quarter of the sugar 
may be spared. The above quantity of ingredients will 
make eighteen bottles, and cost tenpence. 

Cider Champagne. — Good cider, 20 gallons; spirit, 1 
gallon; honey or sugar, 6 pounds. Mix, and let them 
rest for a fortnight; then fine with skimmed milk, 1 
quart. This, put up in champagne bottles, silvered, and 
labeled, has often been sold for champagne. It opens 
very sparkling. 

Currant Wine. — To 1 quart juice, 2 quarts water, 3 
pounds brown sugar. Ferment in tubs„ Skim every 
day till it has done singing ; then put it in a barrel ; 
put the bung in losely till it has done singing ; then 
drive it in tight, and it will be ready to bottle in January. 

What to do with Summer Fruit. — Much Summer fruit 
is very transient, decaying even before it falls from the 
tree, and some times even before it is ripe. This is true 
of many pears. Picked, or shaken from the tree and 
picked over, they make excellent perry, which is like 
cide^:', but more delicate and wine-like. It needs a cool 
cellar to undergo its fermentation in. Apples should be 
made into cider. Sweet, it brings a high price in 
market, and is a delightful cooling beverage, but does 
not make so good cider as later, when fermentation is 
less rapid. The small hand-mills and presses are very 
good for pressing fruits, and a family may supply itself 
with the juices for preservation, and considerable quan- 
tities for sale. 

Lemon Syrup. — Take 1 pound of Havana sugar, boil it 
in water down to a quart, drop in the white of an Qg^, 
and strain it. Add J of an ounce of tartaric acid ; let it 
stand two days ; shake it often. 4 drops of oil of lemon 
will much improve it. 

Sherbet. — Boil in 3 pints of water 6 or 8 stalks of 
green rhubarb, and 4 ounces of raisins or figs ; when the 
water has boiled about half an hour, strain it, and mix 
it with a teaspoonful of rose water, and orange or lemon 
syrup to the taste. Drink it cold. 

Quick Ginger Beer. — To a pail of water add 2 ounces 



THE HOME MECHANIC. ' 825 

of ginger, 1 pint of molasses, and a gill of good yeast. 
In two hours it is fit for use. 

Spruce Beer. — Boil 1 handful of hops, and 2 of the 
chips of sassafras root, in 10 gallons of water ; strain it, 
and turn on, while hot, a gallon of molasses, 2 spoonfuls 
of the essence of spruce, 2 spoonfuls of ginger, and 1 of 
pounded allspice. Put it into a cask ; and when cold 
enough, add half a pint of good yeast ; stir it well ; 
stop it close ; when clear, bottle and cork it. 

Ginger Beer. — Turn 2 gallons of boiling water on 2 
pounds of brown sugar or to a quart of molasses, add 
1\ ounces of cream of tartar, and the same of gingerj 
stir them well, and put it into a cask. When milkwarm, 
put in half a pint of good yeast, stopping the cask close, 
and shaking it well. Bottle it in about twenty-four 
hours. In ten days it will sparkle like champagne. 
One or two lemons sliced in, will much improve it. It 
is excellent in warm weather. 

Lemonade Powders. — Pound and mix together J pound 
of loaf sugar, 1 ounce of carbonate of soda, and 3 drops 
of oil of lemon. Divide the mixture into sixteen por- 
tions, wrapped in white paper. Then take 1 ounce of 
tartaric acid, and divide into sixteen portions, wrapping 
them up in blue paper. Dissolve one of each kind in 
half a tumbler of water, mix the two solutions together 
and drink while effervescing. 

Elderberry Wine. — Take elderberry juice, 10 gallons; 
wa,ter, 10; white sugar, 45 pounds; red tartar, 8 ounces. 
These are put into a cask, a little yeast added, and the 
whole is fermented. When undergoing fermentation, 
ginger root, 4 ounces; allspice 4, and cloves 1 ounce, are 
put into a bag of clean cotton cloth, and suspended in 
the cask. They give a pleasant flavor to the wine, 
which will become clear in about two months, and may 
be drawn off and bottled. Some add brandy to this 
wine, but if the fermentation is properly conducted, this 
is not necessary. 

2. Take 5 gallons of elderberries and boil them for 
half an hour in the same quantity of water, adding J an 



836 • THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ounce of cloves, 2 of ginger, and 2 of cinnamon. 7 f^ 
whole are strained through a clean cotton cloth or a hair 
sieve, and considerable pressure is used to obtain all 
the juice. This is now put into a cask, 15 pounds of 
brown sugar stirred in, and the whole fermented. It 
takes from two to three months before fermentation is 
completed and the wine ready to be bottled. The flavor 
of this wine is very similar to that obtained from the 
grapes of Oporto, in Portugal. 

Blackberry Wine. — The following is said to be an ex- 
cellent recipe for the manufacture of a superior wine 
from blackberries : — Measure your berries, and bruise 
them ; to every gallon adding 1 quart of boiling water. 
Let the mixture stand twenty-four hours, stirring occa- 
sionally ; then strain off the liquor into a cask, to every 
gallon adding 2 pounds of sugar ; cork tight, and let 
stand till the following October, and you will have wine 
ready for use, without any further straining or boiling, 
that will make lips smack, as they never smacked under 
similar influence before. 

Tomato Wine. — Take ripe, fresh tomatoes, mash very 
fine, strain through a fine sieve, sweeten with good 
sugar to suit the taste, set it away in an earthen or glass 
vessel, nearly full, cover tight, with the exception of a 
small hole for the refuse to work off through during its 
fermentation. When it is done fermenting, it will become 
pure and clear. Then bottle, and cork tight. A little 
ealt improves its flavor ; age improves it. 

Hop Beer. — Turn 5 quarts of water on 6 ounces of 
hops ; boil three hours ; strain off the liquor ; turn on 
4 quarts more of water, and 12 spoonfuls of ginger, and 
boil the hops three hours longer ; strain and mix it with 
lihe other liquor, and stir in 2 quarts of molasses. 
Brown, very dry, half a pound of bread, and put in— 
rusked bread is best. Pound it fine, and brown it in a 
pot, like coffee. After cooling to be about lukewarm, 
add a pint of new yeast that is free from salt. Keep 
the beer covered, in a temperate situation, till fermen- 
tation has ceased, which is known by the settling of the 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 827 

froth ; then turn it into a keg" or bottles, and keep it in 
a cool place. 

Lemon Beer. — To a gallon of water add a sliced lemon, 
ri spoonful of ginger, J a pint of yeast, and sugar 
enough to make it quite sweet. 

Cream ^ec/ar.— Tartaric acid, 1 ounce; cream of tartar, 
1 ounce ; white sugar, \\ pounds ; water, 1 pint; the 
whites of two eggs, well beaten ; one tablespoonful of 
wheat flour. Put all the above articles in a tin dish, 
and heat it— but not to the boiling point— and then add a 
drop of good oil of lemon, or any other flavor you choose, 
and then you have the syrup. 

Directions for Using. — Take a glass two-thirds full of 
water, add 3 tablespoonfuls of the syrup, and as much 
soda as you can place on a dime. This makes a cool 
and refreshing drink in hot weather. 

To Preserve Cider. — The following recipe for preserv- 
ing cider was tested last fall by a friend, and found to 
be all that is claimed for it : When the cider in the 
barrel is in a lively fermentation, add as much white 
sugar as will be equal to a J or | of a pound to each 
gallon of cider (according as the apples are sweet or 
sour), let the fermentation proceed until the liquid has 
the taste to suit, then add \ of an ounce of sulphite 
(not sulphate) of lime to each gallon of cider, shake 
well, and let it stand three days, and bottle for use. 
The sulphite should first be dissolved in a quart or so of 
cider before introducing it into the barrel of cider. 

Tamarinds, or Cranberry Juice, with double the quan- 
tity of water, forms a pleasant drink for invalids when 
approaching convalescence. 

Blackberry Wine. — Having procurred berries that are 
fully ripe, put them into a tub or pan with a tap to it, 
and pour upon them as much boiling water as will just 
cover them. As soon as the heat will permit the hand 
to be put into the vessel, bruise them well till all the 
berries are broken. Then let them stand covered till 
the berries begin to rise toward the top, which they 
usually do in three or four days. Then draw off the 
clear liquor into another vessel, and add to every 10 



828 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



quarts of this liquor 4 pounds of sugar j aiit it well, 
and let it stand to work a week or ten dajs ; tlcien filter 
it through a flannel jelly bag into a cask. Take now 
4 ounces of isinglass and lay it to steep for twelve 
hours in a pint of blackberry juice; the next morning 
*boil it over a slow fire for n&,lf an nour with a quart or 
3 pints more juice, and pour it into the cask ; when cool, 
rouse it about well and leave it to settle for a few days, 
then rack it off into a clean cask, and bung it down. 

Delicious Milk Lemonade. — Pour a pint of boiling wa. 
ter on 6 ounces of ioai sugar, add J of a pint of lemon 
juice, and half the quantity of good sherry wine. Then add 
j of a pint of cold milk, and strain the whole, to make 
it clear. 

Moyal Strawberry Acid. — Take 3 pounds of ripe straw- 
berries, 2 ounces of citric acid, and 1 quart of spring 
watero Dissolve the acid in the water, and pour it on 
the strawberries, and let them stand in a cool place 24 
hours. Then drain the liquid off, and pour it on 3 more 
pounds of fruit; let it stand 24 hours. Add to the liquid 
its own weight of sugar; boil it 3 or 4 minutes in a 
porcelain-lined preserve kettle, lest metal may affect 
the taste, and, when cool, cork it in bottles lightly for 
3 days, then tightly, and seal themo Keep in a dry and 
cool place. It is delicious for the sick or well. 

Portable Lemonade. — Mix strained lemon juice with 
loaf sugar, in the proportion of 4 large lemons to a 
pound, or as much as it will hold in solution; grate the 
rind of the lemons into this, and preserve the mixture 
in ajar. If this is too sweet, add a little citric acid. 
Use a tablespoonful to a tumbler of water. 

Orange, or Lemon Syrup. — Put IJ pounds of white 
sugar to each pint of juice ; add some of the peel ; 
boil 10 minutes; then strain and cork it. It makes a 
fine beverage, and is useful to flavor pies, &c. 

Acid Fruit Syrups. — The juice of any acid fruit can 
be made into a syrup by the above recipe, using only a 
pound of sugar for each pint of juice, and kept on hand 
for summer drink. 

Imitation Lemon Syrup. — Four ounces of tartaric acid, 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 829 

powdered; 2 drachms of oil of lemon. This can be 
kept in a vial for a month, and then must be renewed. 
A tablespoonful, put into water sweetened with white 
sugar, makes six glasses of lemonade. 

Superior Ginger Beer. — Ten pounds of sugar; 9 
ounces of lemon juice ; h a pound of honey ; 11 ounces 
of bruised ginger root ; 9 gallons of water ; 3 pints of 
yeast. Boil the ginger half an hour in a gallon of water; 
then add the rest of the water i^nd the other in- 
gredients, and strain it when cold„ Add the white 
of an Qg^ beaten, and ^ an ounce of essence of lemon. 
Let it stand 4 days, then bottle, and it will keep many 
months. 

Lemon Sherbet. — Dissolve IJ pounds of loaf sugar in 1 
quart of water ; add the juice of 10 lemons; press the 
lemons so as to extract both the juice and the oil of the 
rind, and let the peel remain awhile in the water and 
sugar. Strain through a sieve, and freeze like ice cream. 

Orange Sherbet. — Take the juice of 1 dozen oranges, 
and pour 1 pint of boiling water on the peel, and let it 
stand, covered, half an hour. Boil 1 pound of loaf sugar 
in 1 pint of water, skim, and then add the juice and the 
water from the peel to the sugar. Strain and cool, or 
freeze it. The juice of 2, and a little more sugar, im- 
proves it. 

Sham Champagne. — -Take 1 lemon, sliced; 1 table, 
spoonful of tartaric acid ; 1 ounce of race ginger ; Ij 
pounds of sugar ; 2^ gallons of l)oilmg water poured on 
the above. When blood warm, add 1 gill of distillery 
yeast, or 2 gills of home-brewed Let it stand in the 
sun through the day. When col i, in the evening, bottle, 
cork, and wire it. In two days it is ready for use. 

Strawberry Vinegar. — Put 4 pounds of very ripe straw- 
berries, nicely dressed, into 3 quarts of the best vinegar, 
and let them stand 3 or 4 days ; then drain the vinegar 
through a jelly-bag, and pour it on the same quantity of 
fruit. Repeat the process in the days for a third time. 
Finally, to each pound of the liquor thus obtained, add 1 
pound of fine sugar. Bottle, and let it stand covered, 
but not tightly corked, 1 week ; then cork it tiglit, and 



^30 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

get it in a cool, dry place, where it will not freeze. Rasp 
berry vinegar is made the same way. 

Simple Wine Whey. — Mix equal parts of water, milk, 
and white wiiie. Warm the milk and water, and then 
add the wine. Sweeten it to the taste. 

Ginger Beer Powders, and Soda Powders. — Put into 
blue papers, 30 grains to each paper, of bicarbonate of 
soda, 5 grains of powdered ginger, and 1 drachm of 
white powdered sugar. Put into white papers, 25 
grains, to each, of powdered tartaric acid. Put 1 paper 
of a kind to ^ a pint of water. The common soda pow- 
ders of the shops are like the above, with the sugar and 
ginger omitted. Soda powders can be kept on hand, 
and the water in which they are used can be flavored 
with any kind of syrup or tincture, and thus make a fine 
drink for hot weather. 

Currant Ice Water. — Press the juice from ripe cur- 
rants, strain it, and put a pound of sugar to each pint 
of juice. Put it into bottles, cork and seal it, and keep 
it in a cool, dry place. When wanted, mix it with ice 
water for a drink ; or put water with it, make it very 
sweet, and freeze it. Freezing takes away much of the 
sweetness. The juices of other acid fruits may be used 
in the same way. 

Effervescing Fruit Drinks. — Very fine drinks are pre- 
pared by putting strawberries, raspberries, or black- 
berries, into good vinegar, and then drawing it off, and 
adding a new supply of fruit, till enough flavor is se- 
cured. Keep the vinegar bottled, and in hot weather 
use it thus : Dissolve \ a teaspoonful, or less, of salsera- 
tus, or soda, in a tumbler (very little water), till the 
lumps are all out. Then fill the tumbler two-thirds full of 
water, and add the fruit vinegar. If several persons are to 
drink, put the fruit vinegar into each tumbler, and dis- 
solve the soda in a pitcher, and pour into the tumblers 
as each person is ready to drink ; delay spoils it. 

Effervescing Jelly DrinkSo — When jams, or jellies, are 
too old for table u ^e, mix them with good vinegar, and 
then use them with soda, or salaeratus, as directed above. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 831 

Summer Beverage. — Ten drops of oil of sassafras ; 10 
drops of oil of spruce ; 10 drops of oil of wintergreeii ; 

2 quarts of boiling water, poured on 2 great spoonsful 
of cream of tartar. Add 8 quarts of cold water, the oils, 

3 gills of distillery yeast (or 6 of home-brewed), and 
sweeten it to the taste. In 24 h ours, bottle it, and it is 
a delicious beverage. 



CANDIES. 



To Clarify Sugar for Candies. — To every pound of 
sugar, put a large cup of water, and put it in a brass or 
copper kettle, over a slow fire, for half an hour ; pour 
into it a small quantity of isinglass and gum Arabic, dis- 
solved together. This will cause all impurities to rise 
to the surface ; skim it as it rises. Flavor according 
to taste. 

All kinds of sugar for candy, are boiled as above di- 
rected. When boiling loaf sugar, add a tablespoonful ot 
rum or vinegar, to prevent its becoming too brittle 
whilst making. 

Loaf sugar when boiled, by pulling and making into 
small rolls, and twisting a little, will make what is 
called little rock, or snow= By pulling loaf sugar after 
it is boiled, you can make it as white as snow. 

Ginger Candy. — Boil a pint of clarified sugar until, 
upon taking out a drop of it on a piece of stick, it will 
become brittle when cold. Mix, and stir up with it, for 
a common article, about a teaspoonful of ground ginger; 
if for a superior article, instead of the ground ginger, add 
half the white of an Q^g, beaten up previously with fine 
sifted loaf sugar, and 20 drops of strong essence of gin- 
ger., 

Another. — Take coarsely-powdered ginger, 2 ounces; 
boiling water, \\ pints ; macerate in a warm place for i 
l:ours, strain, and add *I pounds each of loaf and brown 
sugar. 

Ginger Drops. — Are the same, except that they are 
made with all loaf sugar. 



832 



THE H031E MECHANIC. 



Ginger Lozenges. — Dissolve in J of a pint of hot water 
J ounce of gum arabic ; when cold, stir it up with IJ 
pounds of loaf sugar, and a spoonful of powdered ginger 
or 12 drops of essence of ginger. Roll and beat the 
whole up into a paste ; make it into a flat cake, and 
punch out the lozenges with a round stamp ; dry them 
near the fire, or in an oven. 

Common Twist Candy. — Boil 3 pounds of common 
sugar and one pint of water over a slow fire for half an 
hour, without skimming. When boiled enough take it off; 
rub the hands over with butter ; take that which is a 
little cooled, and pull, it as you would molasses candy, 
until it is white ; then twist or braid it, and cut it up 
in strips. 

Fine Peppermint Lozenges. — Best powdered whitt 
sugar, *T pounds ; pure starch, 1 pound ; oil of pepper- 
mint to flavor. Mix with mucilage. 

Everton Taffee. — To make this favorite and wholesome 
candy, take 1\ pounds of moist sugar, 3 ounces of 
butter, a teacup and half of water, and one lemon. Boil 
the sugar, butter, water, and half the rind of the lemon 
together, and when done — which will be known by 
dropping into cold water, when it should be quite crisp 
— let it stand aside till the boiling has ceased, and 
then stir in the juice of the lemon. Butter a dish, and 
pour it in about a quarter of an inch in thickness. The 
fire must be quick, and the taffee stirred all the time. 

Candy Fruit. — Take 1 pound of the best loaf sugar ; 
dip each lump into a bowl of water, and put the sugar 
into your preserving kettle. Boil it down and skim it 
until perfectly clear, and in a candying state. When 
sufficiently boiled, have ready the fruits you wish to 
preserve. Large white grapes, oranges separated into 
small pieces, or preserved fruits, taken out of their 
syrup and dried, are very nice. Dip the fruits into the 
prepared sugar while it is hot ; put them in a cold 
place ; they will soon become hard. 

Lozenges that will Cure the Heartburn. — Take prepared 
chalk, 4 ounces; crabs' eyes, prepared, 2 ounces; bole am* 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 833 

moniac, 1 ounce ; make it into a paste with dissolved 
gum Arabic. When held in the mouth till they dissolve, 
they will afford sensible relief. 

Common Lemon Candy. — Take 3 pounds of coarse, 
brown sugar ; add to it 8 teacupfuls of water, and 
set it over a slow fire for half an hour ; put to it a little 
gum Arabic, dissolved in hot water ; this is to clear it. 
Continue to take off the scum as long as any rises. 
When perfectly clear, try it by dipping a pipe-stem first 
into it, and then into cold water, or by taking a spoon- 
ful of it into a saucer ; if it is done, it will snap like 
glass. Flavor with essence of lemon, and cut it in 
sticks. 

Peppermint, Rose, or Hoarhound Candy. — They may 
be made as lemon candy. Flavor with essence of rose, 
or peppermint, or finely powdered hoarhound. Pour it 
out in a buttered paper, placed in a square tin pan. 

Popped Corn. — Dipped in boiling molasses and stuck 
together forms an excellent candy. 

Molasses Candy. — Boil molasses over a moderately hot 
fire, stirring constantly. When you think it is done, 
drop a little on a plate, and if sufficiently boiled it will 
be hard . Add a small quantity of vinegar to render it 
brittle and any flavoring ingredient you prefer. Pour in 
buttered tin pans. If nuts are to be added strew them 
in the pans before pouring out the candy. 

Liquorice Lozenges. — Extract of liquorice 1 pound, 
powdered white sugar, 2 pounds. Mix with mucilage 
made with rose-water. 

Fig Candy. — Take 1 pound of sugar and 1 pint of water, 
set over a slow fire. When done, add a few drops of 
vinegar and a lump of butter, and pour into pans in which 
split figs are laid. 

Raisin Candy. — Can be made in the same manner, sub- 
stituting stoned raisins for the figs. Common molasses 
candy is very nice with all kinds of nuts added. 

Scotch Butter Candy. — Take 1 pound of sugar, 1 pint of 
water ; dissolve and boil. When done add 1 tablespoon- 
ful of butter, and enough lemon juice and oil of lemon 
to flavor. 



834 ' THE HOME MECHANIC, - \ 

Icing for Cakes. — Beat the whites of two small cggg 
to a high froth ; then add to them a quarter of a pound 
of white, ground or powdered, sugar ; beat it well until 
it will lie in a heap ; flavor with lemon or rose. This 
will frost the top of a common-sized cake. Heap what 
you suppose to be sufficient in the centre of the cake, 
then dip a broad-bladed knife in cold water, and spread 
the ice evenly over the whole surface. 

Saffron Lozenges. — Finely powdered hay-saffron, 1 
ounce ; finely powdered sugar, 1 pound ; finely powder- 
ed starch, 8 ounces. Mucilage to mix. 

Chocolate Cream. — Chocolate, scraped fine, ^ ounce ; 
thick cream, 1 pint ; sugar 'best), 3 ounces ; heat it 
nearly to boiling, then remove it from the fire, and mill 
it well. When cold add the whites of four or five eggs ; 
whisk rapidly and take up the froth on a sieve ; serve 
the cream in glasses, and pile up the froth on the top of 
them. 

Candied Lemon or Peppermint, for Colds. Boil — 1 J 
pounds of sugar in a half pint of water, till it begins to 
candy round the sides ; put in 8 drops of essence ; 
pour it upon buttered paper, and cut it with a knife. 



EEMEDIES FOR VERMIN. 

To Destroy Rats. — Fill any deep smooth vessel of con- 
siderable capacity, to within six inches of the top, with 
water, cover the surface with bran, and set the vessel in 
a place most frequented by these pests. In attempting 
to get at the bran, they will fall in and be drowned. 
Several dozen have been taken by thijs simple method at 
a time. 

To Drive away Mice, — Gather any kind of mint and 
scatter it about your shelves, and they will forsake the 
premises. 

To Destroy Caterpillars. — Boil together a quantity of 
rue, wormwood, and any cheap tobacco (equal parts), in 
common water. The liquid should be ve/y strong 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 835 

Sprinkle it on the leaves and young branches every 
morning and evening during the time the fruit is ripen' 

To clear a House of Vermin. — Common green paint, in 
powder, sold under the name of French green, will clear 
a house completly of roaches and vermin of every de- 
scription. So infallible is this remedy that men offer to 
clear houses by contract, at large prices, on the prin- 
ciple of " no cure, no pay," and they never fail to suc- 
ceed. Six cents worth is all that is required, and 
money can be easily and surely made by ridding houses 
of these pests. 

To Kill Lice on Stock of all Kinds — Take 1 ounce of 
coculus indicus, which should be bought of any druggist 
at from twelve to fifteen cents per pound, and steep it 
in one gallon of water, and apply it as is recommended 
for tobacco extract. It will be found quite as effectual, 
and much more pleasant to use. I have used it with 
unvarying success for killing lice on canary birds. Dip 
them in, keeping the head out. and soak well. It is 
perfectly safe. 

Phosphorus Paste for the Destruction of Bats and Mice. 
— Take of phosphorus, 8 parts, liquify it in 180 parts 
of luke-warm water, pour the whole into a mortar, and 
add immediately 180 parts of rye meal ; when cold, mix 
in 180 parts of butter melted, and 125 parts of sugar. 
If the phosphorus is in a finely-divided state, the ingre- 
dients may be all mixed at once, without melting them. 
This mixture will retain its efficacy for many years, for 
the phosphorous is preserved by the butter, and only 
becomes oxydized on the surface. Rats and mice eat 
this mixture with avidity, after Trhich they swell out 
and soon die. This recipe was directed to De used if 
place of arsenic by ^':ie Prussian Government. 

Remedy against Moths. — An ounce of gum camphor 
and one of the powdered shell of red pepper are macer- 
ated in 8 ounces of strong alcohol for several days, then 
strained. With this tincture the furs or cloths are 
sprinkled over, and rolled up in sheets. Instead of the 



856 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



pepper, bittler apple may be used. This remedy is used 
in Russia under the name of the Chinese tincture for 
moths. 

To Protect Dried Fruit from Worms. — It is said that 
dried fruit put away with a little sassafras bark (say a 
large handful to a bushel), will save for years, un- 
molested by those troublesome little insects which so 
often destroy hundreds of bushels in a season„ The 
remedy is cheap and simple. 

To Keep Away 3Iosquito8. — Dip a piece of sponge or 
flannel in camphorated spirits, and make fast to the top 
of the bedstead. 

Death to Bats and Mice. — ^The following is an excel- 
lent recipe for the destruction of rats and mice : Miy 
some fine plaster of Paris with an equal quantity ot 
flour ; put the mixture in the place infested by the ver- 
min, and a vessel full of water beside it. The rats will 
devour the mixture, and then drink ; whereupon the 
plaster, brought into contact with the water, will be- 
come solid, and like a stone in their stomachs, which 
will cause their death. This method is evidently highly 
preferable to the use of arsenic, which is always at- 
tended with danger. 

Bat Poison. — Flour, 6 pounds ; sugar, 1 pound ; sul- 
phur, 4 pounds ; phosphorus, 4 pounds. 

To Destroy Bats. — When a house is infested by rats 
which refuse to nibble at toasted cheese, and the usual 
baits, a few drops of the highly scented oil of rhodium, 
poured on the bottom of a cage top, will always attract 
it full of the " mischievous rodents " before morning. 
We have known this to be tried with most extraordinary 
success. Where a trap baited with all manner of 
edibles had failed to attract a single rat, the oil of 
Rhodium caused it to be comx>letely crowded night after 
night. 

To Destroy Cockroaches. — The following is said to be 
effectual : These vermin are easily destroyed, simply by 
cutting up green cucumbers at night, and placing them 
about where roaches commit depredations. What is 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 837 

cut from the cucumbers in preparing them for tne table 
answers the purpose as well, and three applications 
will destroy all the roaches in the house. Remove the 
peelings in the morning, and renew them at night. 

To Kill Rata in Barn and Rick. — Melt hog's lard in a 
bottle plunged in water of temperature of 150 degrees 
¥ahrenheit ; introduce into it ^ an ounce of phosphorus 
for every pound of lard, then add a pint of proof spirits 
or whiskey ; cork the bottle firmly after its contents 
have been to 150 degrees, taking it out of the water and 
agitating till the phosphorus becomes uniformly diffused, 
making a milky-looking fluid. The spirit may be poured 
off on the liquor cooling ; and you have then a fatty 
compound, which, after being warmed gently, may be 
incorporated with a mixture of wheat flour, or sugar, 
flavored with oil of rhodium, or oil of anise-seed, &c., and 
the dough, on being made into pellets, should be laid at 
the rat-holes ; being luminous in the dark, and agree- 
able both to the palates and noses, it is readily eaten, 
and proves certainly fatal. The rats issue from 
their holes and seek for water to quench their burning 
thirst, and they commonly die near the water. 

To Kill Bed-bugs. — An effectual lime for the destruc- 
tion of bed-bugs may be made as follows : Two ounces 
of red arsenic, a J of a pound of white soap, ^ an ounce 
of camphor dissolved in a teaspoonful of spirits rectified, 
made into a paste of the consistency of cream. Place 
this mixture in the openings and cracks of the bedstead. 



RECEIPTS FOR INKS. 

Cheap Black Ink. — Extract of logwood, 2 ounces ; sul- 
phate of potash, J of an ounce; boiling water, 1 gallon. 
Mix. This is an excellent ink, and can be made at a 
cost not exceeding fifteen cents a gallon. 

Indestructible Ink. — On many occasions, it is of im- 
portance to employ an ink indestructible by any process, 
that will not equally destroy the material on which it is 



^^^ THE HOME MECHANIC. 

applied. For black ink, 25 grains of copal, in powder, 
are to be dissolved in 200 grains of oil of lavender by 
the assistance of a gentle heat, and are then to be 
mixed with 2J grains of lampblack, and half a grain of 
indigo. This ink is particularly useful for labeling 
phials, &c., containing chemical substances of a corro- 
sive nature. 

Blue Ink Easily Made. — The soluble indigo of com- 
inerce makes a good blue ink when slightly diluted 
with hot water. It is incorrosive for steel pens, and 
flows freely. 

A Quart of Ink for a Dime. — Buy extract of logwood, 
which may be had for three cents an ounce, or cheaper 
by the quantity. Buy also, for three cents, an ounce of 
hi-chromate of potash. Do not make a mistake, and get 
the simple chromate of potash. The former is orange 
red, and the latter clear yellow. Now, take \ an ounce 
of extract of logwood and 10 grains of bi-chromate of 
potash, and dissolve them in a quart of hot rain water 
When cold, pour it into a glass bottle, and leave it un- 
corked for a week or two. Exposure to the air is indis- 
pensable. The ink is then made, and has cost five to 
ten minutes' labor, and about three cents, besides the 
bottle. The ink is at first an intense steel blue, but 
becomes quite black. 

Ink for Marking Linen with Type. — Dissolve one part 
of asphaltum in four parts of oil of turpentine, and 
lampblack or blacklead in fine powder, in sufficient 
quantity to render of proper consistency to print with 
type. 

Indelible Marking Ink. — 1 J drachms of nitrate of silver, 
1 ounce of distilled water, \ ounce of strong mucilage 
of gum Arabic, | of a drachm of liquid ammonia. Mix 
the above in a clean glass bottle, cork tightly, and keep 
in a dark place till dissolved, and ever afterwards. 
Directions for use : Shake the bottle, then dip a cleao 
quill pen in the Ink, and write or draw what you require 
on the article ; immediately hold it close to the- fire 
/without scorching), or pass a hot iron ever it, and it 



a---*' 



THE HOME MJECH.LNIC. 830 



will become a deep and indelible black, iDdestructible 
by either time or acids of any description. 

Ink Powder for Immediate Use. — Reduce to powder 
10 ounces of gall-nuts, 3 ounces of green copperas^ 2 
ounces each of powdered alum and gum Arabic. Put a 
little of this mixture into white wine, and it will be fit 
for immediate use. 

For Indelible Ink. — To 4 drachms of lunar caustic, in 
4 ounces of water, add 60 drops of nutgalls, made strong 
by being pulverized and steeped in soft water. The 
mordant which is to be applied to the cloth before 
writing, is composed of 1 ounce of pearlash dissolved in 
4 ounces of water, with a litttle gum Arabic dissolved 
in it. Wet the spot with this ; dry and iron the cloth ; 
then write. 

2. Nitrate of silver, 5 scruples ; gum Arabic, 2 
drachms ; sap green, 1 scruple ; distilled water, 1 ounce. 
Mix together. Before writing on the article to be 
marked, apply a little of the following : carbonate of 
soda, J ounce ; distilled water, 4 ounces; let this last, 
which is the mordant, get dry ; then, with a quill pen, 
write what you require. 

First Bate Black Ink. — Take 12 pounds of bruised 
galls, 5 pounds of gum Senegal, 5 pounds of green 
sulphate of iron, and 12 gallons of rain water. Boil the 
galls with 9 gallons of water for three hours, adding 
fresh water to replace what is lost by evaporation. Let 
the decoction settle, and draw off the clear liquor ; add 
to it a strained solution of the gum; dissolve also the 
sulphate of iron separately, and mix the whole. 

Another. — Galls, 3 pounds., sulphate of iron, 1 pound ; 
logwood, J pound ; gum, | pound ; ale, 4 gallons. Let 
it stand in loosely-corked bottles, in a warm place, for 
a week or two, shaking it daily. 

Bunge's Black Writing Fluid. — Boil 22 pounds of log- 
wood in enough water to yield 14 gallons of decoction. 
To each 1,000 parts add one part of yellow chromate of 
potash. Stir the mixture. 

Transfer /n^.— Mastic in tears, 4 ounces ; shellac, 6 



840 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

ounces; Venice turpentine, J ounce; melt together; add 
wax, ^ pound ; tallow, 3 ounces. When dissolved, fur- 
ther add hard tallow soap (in shavings), 3 ounces; and 
when the whole is combined, add lampblack, 2 ounces. 
Mix well, cool a little, and then pour it into molds. This 
ink is rubbed down with a little water in a cup or saucer, 
in the same way as water-color cakes. In winter, the 
operation should be performed near the fire. 

Copying Ink. — Dissolve \ ounce of gum, and 20 grains 
of Spanish licorice, in 13 drachms of water, and add 
1 drachm of lamp-black, previously mixed with a test 
spoonful of sherry. 

Another. — Common black ink, 3 parts ; sugar candy^ 
1 part. 

Lamp-black. — Real lamp-black, produced by combus- 
tion of linseed-oil, ground with gum and infusion of 
galls. It is prepared both in a liquid and a solid form, 
the latter being dried in the sun. 

To Make Carmine.— Boil I pound 4 ounces of ground 
cochineal, and a very little of the carbonate of soda 
in 4 gallons of soft water for 20 minutes ; then take 
it from the fire, and add 6 drachms of alum, and stir 
the mixture for a few minutes, and let it stand for a 
quarter of an hour for the dregs to subside ; then run 
off the clear liquor ; strain the sediment through a fine 
sieve or cloth, and then, when cold, add the white of two 
eggs with the sediment ; fish glue or isinglass will an- 
swer as well as the eggs. The muriate of tin may be 
used instead of alum. The weight of the cochineal may 
be reduced to any amount to make a small quantity if 
the proportions are preserved. 

An excellent Substitute for Ink. — Put a couple of iron 
tiails into a teaspoonful of vinegar. In half an hour 
pour in a tablespoonful of strong tea, and then you will 
have ink enough for a while. 

Bed Ink. — Take of the raspings of Brazil wood, | 
pound, and infuse them two or three days in colorless 
vinegar. Boil the infusion one hour and a half over a 
gentle fire, and afterward filter it while hot, through pa 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 841 

per ^aici m an earthenware cullender. Put it again over 
the fire, and dissolve in it first half an ounce of gum 
arabic, ^nd afterward of alum and white sugar, each half 
an ouncr;. Care should be taken that the Brazil wood be 
not adulterated with the Braziletto or Campeachy wood. 

Blue mk. — Chinese blue, 3 ounces, oxalic acid (pure), 
I of an ounce ; gum arabic, powdered ; 1 ounce, distil- 
led water ; 6 pints. Mix. 

DurahCe Ink for Marking Linen. — Dissolve 2 drachms 
of lunar caustic, and half an ounce of gum arabic, in a 
gill of rain water. Dip whatever is to be marked in 
strong pearlash water. When perfectly dry, iron it very 
smooth ; the pearlash water turns it a dark color, but 
washing will efi'ace it. After marking the linen, put it 
near a fire, or in the sun, to dry. Red ink, for marking 
linen, is made by mixing and reducing to a fine powder 
half an ounce of vermilion, a drachm of the salt of steel, 
and linseed-oil to render it of the consistency of black, 
durable ink. 

Inkstains. — The moment the ink is spilled, take a little 
milk, and saturate the stain, soak it up with a rag, and 
apply a little more milk, rubbing it well in. In a few 
minutes the ink will be completely removed » 

To Remove the Marks of India Ink on the Flesh. — Blis- 
ter the part with a plaster a little larger than the mark ; 
then keep the place open with an ointment for a week ; 
finally, dress it to get well. As the new skin grows, 
the tattoo will disappear. 

Printer's Ink. — 10 or 12 gallons cf nut-oil or linseed- 
oil are set over the fire in a large iron pot, and brought 
to boiL It is then stirred with an iron ladle, and 
while boiling, the inflammable vapor arising from it 
either takes fire of itself, or is kindled, and is sufiered 
to burn in this way for about half an hour, the pot being 
partially covered so as to re ovulate the body of the flame, 
and, consequently, the heat is communicated to the oil. 
It is frequently stirred during this time, that the whole 
may be heated equally ; otherwise a part would be char- 
rtd, aad the rest left imperfect. The flame i« thea extin' 



842 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

guished by covering the pot entirely. The oil, by thl» 
process, has much of its unctuous quality destroyed, 
and, when cold, is of the consistence of soft turpentine ; 
it is then called varnish. After this, it is made into ink, 
by mixture with the requisite quantity of lampb-lack ; 
of which about 2 J ounces are sufficient for 16 ounces of 
the prepared oil. The oil loses by the boiling about | ol 
its weight, and emits very offensive fumes. During the 
boiling, add by degrees 3 ounces of turpentine soap, and 
2 ounces of black resin to every pound of oil. Be- 
sides these additions, others are made by the printers, 
of which the most important is a little fine indigo in pow- 
der, to improve the beauty of the color ; excellent print- 
ing ink. Balsam of copaiba (or Canada balsam) nine 
ounces ; lamp-black, three ounces ; Indigo and Prussian 
j]ue, of each 5 drachms ; Indian red, | of an ounce ; 
yellow soap (dry), 3 ounces. Grind it to an impalpable 
smoothness. Mix with old linseed-oil. 

Resin-oil Ink. — Melfc together 13 ounces of resin, 1 
pound of resin oil, and IJ ounce of soft soap ; when 
cold, add lamp-black. 

Cheap Printing Ink. — Take equal parts of lamp-blac^ 
and oil ; mix and keep on the fire, till reduced to the 
right consistency. This is a good ink for common pur- 
poses, and is very cheap. We have used it extensively 
ourselves. 

SympatheHc or Secret Inks — Mix equal quantities of 
sulphate of copper and sal ammoniac, and dissolve in 
water. Writing done with this ink is invisible until 
the paper is heated, when it turns a yellow color. 
Lemon juice, milk, juice of onions, and some othei 
liquids, become black when the writing is held to the fire. 



RECEIPTS FOR MANUFACTURERS. 

The following receipts embrace a variety of articles 
which are used in every family, and which have a 
niDiT^Tsal cUm»nd. By the maMufacturt &f tke«« pre* 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 843 

parations a handsome profit may be realized. They are 
easily disposed of, either to dealers or consumers. We 
do not think it necessary to give any directions for 

f)utting up the articles, as the form and style are fami- 
iar to almost everyone, and it would be only wasting 
space to do so here. Thousands of persons are making 
handsome incomes by the manufacture of these articles 
at the present time, and there is room for thousands 
more, all over the country : 

White Cement for Crockery, Glass, &c. — Take 4 pounds 
of white glue, 1 J pounds of dry white lead, half a pound 
of isinglass, 1 gallon of soft water, 1 quart of alcohol, 
and half a pint of white varnish. Dissolve the glue and 
isinglass in the water by gentle heat if preferred, stir 
in the lead, put the alcohol in the varnish, and mix the 
whole together. 

Cement for Broken China. — Stir plaster of Paris into 
a thick solution of gum arable, till it becomes a viscous 
paste. Apply it with a brush to the fractured edges, 
and draw the parts closely together. 

A Cement for Attaching Metal to Glass. — Take 2 
ounces of a thick solution of glue, and mix it with 1 
ounce of linseed-oil varnish, and half an ounce of pure 
turpentine; the whole are then boiled^ together in a 
close vessel. The two bodies should be clamped and 
held together for about two days after they are united, 
to allow the cement to become dry. The clamps may 
then be removed. 

Marine Glue. — Dissolve 4 parts of india-rubber in 34 
parts of coal tar naphtha — aiding the solution with heat 
and agitation. The solution is then thick as cream, and 
it should be added to 64 parts of powdered shellac, 
which must be heated in the mixture till all is dissolved. 
While the mixture is hot it is poured on plates of metal, 
in sheets like leather. It can be kept in that state, and 
when it is required to be used, it is put into a pot and 
heated till it is soft, and then applied with a brush to 
the surfaces to be joined. Two pieces of wood joined 
with this cement can scarcely be sundered 



844 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Cement for Mending Steam Boilers. — Mix two parts of 
finely powdered litharge witli one part of very fine 
sand, and one part of quicklime which has been allowed 
to slack spontaneously by exposure to the air. This 
mixture may be kept for any length of time without 
injury. In using it a portion is mixed into paste with 
linseed-oil, or still better, boiled linseed-oil. In this 
state it must be quickly applied as it soon becomes hard. 

Japanese Cement. — Intimately mix the best powdered 
rice with a little cold water, then gradually add boiling 
water until a proper consistence is acquired, being par- 
ticularly careful to keep it well stirred all the time ; 
lastly, it must be boiled for one minute in a clean sauce- 
pan or earthen pipkin. This glue is beautifully white 
and almost transparent, for which reason it is well 
adapted for fancy paper work, which requires a strong 
and colorless cement. 

Diamond Cement. — Isinglass, 1 ounce; distilled vine- 
vinegar, 5| ounces ; spirits of wine, 2 ounces ; gum 
ammoniacum, half an ounce ; gum mastic, half an ounce. 
Mix well. 

Glue for Ready Use. — To any quantity of glue use 
common whiskey instead of water. Put both together 
in a bottle, cork tight, and set it away for three or four 
days, when it will be fit for use without the application 
of heat. 

Liquid Glue. — Dissolve one part of powdered alum, 
one hundred and twenty parts of water ; add one hun- 
dred and twenty parts of glue, ten of acetic acid, and 
forty of alcohol, and digest. Prepared glue is made by 
dissolving common glue in warm water, and then adding 
acetic acid (strong vinegar) to keep it. Dissolve 1 
pound of best glue in 1|- pint of water, and add 1 pint of 
Wnegar. It is ready for use. 

Indian Glues. — Take 1 pound of the best glue, the 
stronger the better, boil it and strain it very clear ; boil 
also 4 ounces of isinglass, put the mixture into a double 
glue pot, add half a pound of brown sugar, and boil the 
whole until it gets thick ; then pour it into thin plates 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 845 

or molds, and when cold you may cut and dry them in 
small pieces for the pocket. The glue is used by mere- 
ly holding it over steam, or wetting it with the mouth. 
This is a most useful and convenient article, being much 
stronger than common glue. It is sold under the name 
of Indian glue, but is much less expensive in making, 
and is applicable to all kinds of small fractures, etc.; 
answers well on the hardest woods, and cements china, 
etc., though, of course, it will not resist the action of 
hot water. For parchment and paper, in lieu of gum or 
paste, it will be found equally convenient. 

Cement for Aquaria. — Many persons have attempted 
to make aquarium, but have failed on account of the 
extreme difficulty in making the tank resist the action 
of water for any length of time. Below is a recipe for 
a cement that can be relied upon ; it is perfectly free 
from any thing that injure the animal, or plants; it sticks 
to glass, metal, wood, stone, &c., and hardens under 
water. A hundred different experiments with cements, 
have been tried, but there is nothing like it. It is the 
same as that used in constructing the tanks of the Zoo- 
logical G-ardens, London, and is almost unknown in this 
country. One part, by measure, say a gill of litharge; 
1 gill of plaster of Paris ; 1 gill of dry, white sand ; J of 
a gill of finely-powdered rosin. Sift and keep corked 
tight until required for use, when it is to be made into 
a putty by mixing in boiled oil (linseed) with a little 
patent dryer added. Never use it after it has been 
mixed (that is, with the oil) over fifteen hours. This 
cement can be used for marine as well as fresh water 
aquaria, as it resists the action of salt water. The tank 
can be used immediateiy, but it is best to give it three 
©r four hours to dry. 

Waterproof Composition for Boots and Shoes. — Melt 
3 ounces of bees-wax, and the same of resin ; then add 
1 pint of boiled oil. Stir well together. Let it boil up; 
remove from the fire, and add three ounces of the oil oi 
turpentine. 

Blacking for Harness. — Melt four ounces of muttoi 



846 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

guet with twelve ounces of bees-wax ; add twelve ounces 
of sugar-candy, four ounces of soft soap, dissolved in 
water, and two ounces of indigo finely powdered. When 
melted and well mixed, add half a pint of turpentine. 
Lay it on the harness with a sponge, and polish off with 
a brush. 

Blacking for Morocco Shoes. — Pound some black seal- 
ing wax, and put in a bottle with half a pint of alcohol ; 
shake it frequently, and when it is dissolved, you may 
rub it on morocco shoes when they are scaled or defaced, 
and they will look almost like new ; dry it on in the sun. 

Liquid Blacking. — Mix a quarter of a pound of ivory 
black, 6 gills of vinegar, a table-spoonful of sweet oil, 
and two large spoonsful of molasses. Stir the whole 
well together, and it will then be fit for use. 

Carriage Harness Blacking. — Take three sticks of 
black sealing wax, dissolve them in half a pint of 
alcohol, and then apply with a sponge. Lac dissolved 
in alcohol, and colored with lamp-black, will answer the 
same purpose. This is a quick drying, hard varnish, 
liable to crack the leather, and should, therefore, be put 
on as seldom as possible. 

Unsurpassable Blacking. — Put 1 gallon of vinegar 
into a stone jug, and 1 pound of ivory-black well pul- 
verized, a half pound of loaf sugar, a half ounce of oil 
of vitriol and 7 ounces of sweet oil ; incorporate the 
whole by stirring. 

Take 12 ounces each of ivory black and treacle ; 
spermaceti oil, 4 ounces ; and white wine vinegar, 2 
quarts . Mix thoroughly. This contains no vitriol, and 
therefore will not injure the leather. The trouble of 
making it is very little, and it would be well to prepare 
it for one's self, were it only to be assured that it is not 
injurious. 

Black Ball. — Melt together, moderately, 10 ounces of 
bayberry tallow, 5 ounces of bees-wax, and 1 ounce 
of mutton tallow. When melted, add lamp or ivory 
black to give it a good black color. Stir the whole well 
together, and add, when taken from ^^e fire, half a glass 
of rum. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 847 

Caoutchouc Shoe Blacking. — 18 ounces of caoutchouc 
are to be dissolved in about 9 pounds of hot rape 
oil. To this solution 60 pounds of fine ivory black 
and forty-five pounds of molasses are to be added, 
along with 1 pound of finely-powdered gum arabic, 
previously dissolved in 20 gallons of vinegar. These 
mixed ingredients are to be finely triturated in a 
paint-mill, till the mixture becomes perfectly smooth. 
To this varnish twelve pounds of sulphuric acid are to 
be now added, in small successive quantities, with 
powerful stirring for half an hour ; at the end of which 
time, three pounds of finely-ground gum arabic are 
added ; after which the stirring is repeated half an hour, 
for fourteen days longer, when the liquid blacking is 
ready for use. In making the paste blacking, the par 
tentees prescribe the above quantity of India-rubber oil, 
ivory black, molasses, and gum arabic — the latter being 
dissolved in only 12 pounds of vinegar. These in- 
gredients are to be well mixed and then ground together 
in a mill, till they form a perfectly smooth paste. To 
this paste 12 pounds of sulphuric acid are to be added 
in small quantities at a time, with powerful stirring, 
which is to be continued half an hour after the last 
portion of the acid has been introduced. Ready for use 
in seven days. 

Gold and Silver Coin Detector. — 10 grains of nitrate 
of silver, and 1 ounce of water. 

Bluing for Clothes. — Take 1 ounce of soft Prussian 
blue, powder it and put in a bottle with 1 quart of 
clear rain water, and add 1 quarter ounce of oxalic 
acid. A teaspoonful is sufficient for a large washing. • 

Liquid Blue. — Take half a pound of best double oil of 
vitriol, mix one ounce of Spanish indigo, pounded very 
fine, and scrape in a little chalk ; have an iron pot half 
full of sand, set this on the fire ; when the stand is hot, 
put the bottle in, and let the vitriol, &c., boil gently for 
a quarter of an hour ; take the whole off the fire, and 
le it stand for twenty-four hours, and then bottle it for 
use. 



S48 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Furniture Oil for Polishing and Staining Mahogany.—^- 
Take of linseed-oil, 1 gallon; alkanet root, 3 ounces; rose 
pink, 1 oz. Boil them together ten minutes, and strain 
so that the oil be quite clear. The furniture should be 
well rubbed with it every day until the polish is brought 
up, which will be more durable than any other. 

Furniture Polish. — Bees-wax half a pound, and a quar- 
ter of an ounce of alkanet root ; melt together in a pip- 
kin until the former is well colored. Then add linseed- 
oil, and spirits of turpentine, of each half a gill ; strain 
through a piece of coarse muslin. 

Colored Chalks or Crayons. — Take three quarters of a 
pound of blue clay, three quarters of' a pound of the 
coloring required, such as vermilion, chrome, Prus- 
sian blue, orpiment, &c., 2 ounces of turpentine, 4 
ounces of spirits of wine, and 6 ounces of fine shellac, 
The clay must be well mixed with water, passed through 
a fine lawn sieve, and allowed to subside ; the water is 
then poured ofi" and the clay dried. The shellac must 
be dissolved in the mixed turpentine and spirit with a 
little warmth. The dry clay and the coloring, must be 
blended in a mortar, and then the shellac mixture added 
and well incorporated till the whole is a doughy mass ; 
it is then to be rolled out into a pencil form and dried 
with stove heat. To make the crayons of uniform sub- 
stance, the paste may be placed in a cylinder, with a 
hole at one end and a piston at the other (like a boy's 
popgun), the "wormy" pieces that pass through are 
then cut into proper lengths and dried. 

Grafting Wax. — Five parts of resin ; one part of bees- 
wax ; one part of tallow. Melt these in a skillet, tin 
cup, or any metal vessel : the skillet being preferable, 
as it can be handled better, and the wax keeps warm 
longer in it. Melt these over the fire and mix together 
well. When the scions are set — say as many as twenty 
or thirty, or as few as is wished — ^have the mixture 
ready and apply it warm, with a small wooden ped- 
dle. See that every part is covered and the air com- 
pletely excluded. It requires no bandage. 



^HE HOME MECHANIC. 849 

Composition for House-Roofs. — Take one measure of 
fine sand, two of sifted wood-ashes, and three of lime, 
ground up with oil. Mix thoroughly, and lay on with a 
painter's brush, first a thin coat, and then a thick one. 
This composition is not only cheap, but it strongly re- 
sists fire. 

Bed Bottle Wax. — Common resin 4 pounds ; tallow 
1 pound ; red lead 1 pound. Mix with heat. Any 
coloring matter may be substituted, if other colors are 
wanted. 

Starch Polish. — Take common dry potato or wheat 
starch sufficient to make a pint of starch when boiled. 
Then add half a drachm of spermaceti, and half a drachm 
of white wax, and then use it as common starch, only 
using the iron as hot as possible. In this mancer a 
brilliant polish is produced. 

Substitute for Court Plaster. — Take half a dozen pigs' 
feet, well cleaned for cooking, and boil to a jelly of say 
about half a pint or less — then spread with a brush on 
any waste scraps of silk, and we find it equal to any 
adhesive plaster we have ever used. Any fatty substance 
in the boiling of the feet raises to the surface, and when 
cold can easily be removed. One of its chief excellen- 
cies is, that it costs nothing but the trouble of pre- 
paring. 

Celebrated Becipe for Silver Wash. — 1 ounce of nitric 
acid, 1 ten cent piece, and 1 ounce of quicksilver. Put 
in an open glass vessel, and let it stand until dissolved ; 
then add one pint of water, and it is ready for use. Make 
it into a powder by adding whiting, and it may be used 
on brass, copper, German silver, &c. 

Approved Friction Matches. — About the best known 
preparation for friction matches consists of gum arabic, 
16 parts by weight; phosphorus, 9 parts; nitre, 14 
parts ; peroxyd of manganese, in powder, 16 parts. The 
gum is first made into a mucilage with water, then the 
manganese, then the phosphorus, and the whole is heated 
to about 130 deg. Fah. When the phosphorus is melted 
the nitre is added, and the whole is thoroughly stirrec' 



850 i-HE HOME Mechanic. 

until the mass is a uniform paste. The "wooden matches 
prepared firsi with sulphur, are then dipped in this and 
afterward dried in the air. Friction papers, for carry- 
ing in the pocket, may be made in the same manner, 
and by adding some gum benzoin to the mucilage they 
will have an agreeable odor when ignited. 

Tracing Paper. — In order to prepare a beautiful trans- 
parent, colorless paper, it is best to emply the varnish 
formed with Demarara resin in the following way : The 
sheets intended for this purpose are laid flat on each 
other, and the varnish spread over the uppermost sheet 
by means of a brush, until the paper appears perfectly 
colorless, without, however, the liquid therein being 
visible. The first sheet is then removed, hung up for 
drying, and the second treated in the same manner. 
After being dried, this paper is capable of being written 
on, either with chalk, or pencil, or steel pens. It pre- 
serves its colorless transparency without becoming yel- 
low, as is frequently the case with that prepared in any 
other way, 

French Polish. — To one pint of spirits of wine, add a 
quarter of an ounce of gum copal, and a quarter of an 
ounce of gum arable, and 1 ounce of shellac. Let the 
gums be well bruised, and sifted through a piece of 
muslin. Put the spirits and the gums together in a ves- 
sel that can be closely corked ; place them near a warm 
stove, ana frequently shake them ; in two or three days 
they will be dissolved ; strain the mixture through a 
piece of muslin, and keep it tightly corked for use. 

Goachmaker^s Varnish. — The fine black varnish of the 
coachmakers is said to be prepared by melting 16 
ounces of amber in an iron pot, adding to it half a pint 
of drying linseed-oil, boiling hot, of powdered resin and 
asphaltum, 3 ounces each. When the materials are 
well united, by stirring over the fire, they are to be re- 
moved, and after cooling for some time, a pint of warm 
oil of turpentine is to be introduced. 

Parc/imen^— Paper parchment may be produced hy 
immersing paper in a coneentrating solntioa of ©Merido 
of zinc. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 851 

ifahogany Stain. — Break 2 ounces of dragon's blood 
ii, pieces, and put them in a quart of rectified spirits of 
Wine ; let the bottle stand in a warm place, and shake 
it ireqttentljo When dissolved it is fit for use, and will 
render common wood an excellent imitation of mahogany. 

Fire Kindlers. — Take a quart of tar and 3 pounds 
of resin, melt them, bring to a cooling temperature, mix 
with as much sawdust, with a little charcoal added, as 
can be worked in ; spread out while hot upon a board, 
when cold break up into lumps of the size of a large 
hickory nut, and you have, at a small expense, kindling 
material enough for a household for one year. They 
will easily ignite from a match and burn with a strong 
blaze, long enough to start any wood that is fit to 
burn. 

Razor Paste. — Emery reduced to an impalpable powder, 
two parts ; spermaceti ointment, one part ; mix together, 
and rub it over the strop. 

Cheap, White House-Paint. — Take skim milk 2 quarts, 8 
ounces fresh slacked lime, 6 ounces linseed-oil, 2 ounces 
white Burgundy pitch, 8 pounds Spanish white. Slack 
the lime in water, expose it to the air, and mix in about 
J of the milk ; the oil, in which the pitch is previously 
dissolved, to be added, a little at a time ; then the rest 
of the milk, and afterwards the Spanish white. This 
quantity is sufficient for thirty square yards, two coats, 
and costs but a few cents. If the other colors are 
wanted, use, instead of Spanish white, other coloring 
matter. 



VALUABLE SECRETS. 

Elder Ointment. — This is a very popular article in the 
country and is regarded as a valuable cooling and healing 
salve Take fresh elder leaves, bruised, 3 pounds ; suet 4 
pounds; lard 2 pounds. Boil together until the leaves 
become crisp, and squeeze through a linen cloth. Elder 
flower ointment is made in the same way, using one pound 
of flowers and one pound of lard. 



852 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Mahogany Cement. — Melt 4 ounces of beeswax, and add 
1 ounce of red lead and enough yellow ochre to produce 
tint required. Used to fill cracks and holes in furniture. 

Polishing Potvder, (for brass and copper). — Take 3 parts 
of rotton stone to 1 part of powdered soap. This is to be 
thoroughly mixed, and moistened with water when used. 

Eye Water. — Toke sulphate of zinc, 20 grains ; distilled 
water, | pint ; dissolve. An excelent astringent lotion in 
chronic opthamaia, weak and irritable eyes, &c. 

^ew Method of EmhalTriing — Mix together 5 pounds 
dry sulphate of alumina, 1 quart of warm water, and 
100 grains of arsenious acid„ Inject 3 or 4 quarts of 
this mixture into all the vessels of the human body. 
This applies as well to all animals, birds, fishes, &c. 
This process supersedes the old and revolting mode, 
and has been introduced into the great anatomical 
schools of Paris. 

Great Pain Extractor. — Spirits of ammonia 1 ounce, 
laudctnum 1 ounce, oil of organum 1 ounce, mutton tal- 
low half pound ; combine the articles with the tallow 
when it is nearly cool. 

To Catch Foxes. — Take oil of amber and beaver's oil 
each equal parts, and rub them over the trap. 

Bryants Pulmonic Wafers, for Coughs, Colds, &c. — Take 
white sugar, t pounds ; tincture of syrup of ipecac, 4 
ounces; antimonial wine, 2 ounces ; morphine, 10 grains; 
dissolved in a tablespoonful of water, with 10 or 15 drops 
sulphuric acid ; tincture of blood root, 1 ounce ; syrup of 
tolu, 2 ounces ; add these to the sugar, and mix the whole 
mass as confectioners do for lozenges, and cut into loz- 
enges the ordinary size. Use from 6 to 12 of these in 
24 hours. They sell at a great profit. 

Cough Syrup. — Put 1 quart hoarhound to 1 quart of 
water, and boil it down to a pint ; add 2 or 3 sticks of 
licorice and a tablespoonful of essence lemon. Take a 
tablespoonful of the syrup three times a day, or as often 
as the cough may be troublesome. The above receipt 
has been sold for $100, Several firms are making much 
money by its manufacture. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 853 

Ointment. — Take equal parts of yellow root or gold 
thread, and common elder bark, and simmer them in 
hogs' lard. No family should be without this ointment. 
It is good in chapped hands, chilblains, burns, and scalds, 
sore nipples and lips. 

Bengal Lights. — Take of nitrate of potassa (saltpetre) , 
8 parts; sublimed sulphur 4 parts, and antimony 1 part, 
and let them be well mixed in powder and beat firmly 
into a stout iron cup, and set on fire ; and if a little cam- 
phor be added it is still more brilliant. Such lights are 
made use of for communicating at a great distance by 
sea at night. 

Tomato Figs. — Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, 
in order to remove the skins ; then weigh them, and 
place them in a stone, jar, with as much sugar as you 
have tomatoes, and let them stand two days ; then pour 
off the syrup, and boil and skim it until no scum rises. 
Then pour it over the tomatoes, and let them stand two 
days, as before ; then boil and skim again. After the 
third time, they are fit to dry, if the weather is good ; 
if not, let them stand in the syrup until drying weather. 
Then place on large earthen plates or dishes, and put 
them in the sun to dry, which will take about a week, 
after which pack them d own in small wooden boxes, with 
fine white sugar between every layer. Tomatoes pre- 
pared in this manner will keep for years. 

Soluble Glass. — Mix 10 parts of carbonate of potash, 
15 parts of powdered quartz, and 1 part of charcoal. 
Fuse well together. The mass is soluble in 4 or 5 parts 
of boiling water, and the filtered solution, evaporated 
to dryness, yields a transparent glass permanent in 
the airo 

French Gold. — Spanish copper 6 parts, silver 3 parts, 
gold 5 parts. Mix. 

Bronze. — Copper 14 parts, zinc 6 parts, tin 4 parts 
Mix. 

Gun Metal. — Copper 9 parts, tin 1 part. 

Artificial Silver. — Melt 1 pound copper with | ounce 
tin J will look and ring like sterling silvei. 



854 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Armenian Cement. — The jewelers of Turkey, who are 
mostly Armenians, have a singular method of ornamenting 
watch cases, &c., with diamonds and other precious stones, 
by simply gluing or cementing them on. The stone is set 
in silver or gold, and the lower part of the metal made flat, 
or to correspond with the part to which it is to be fixed ; it 
is then gently warmed and the glue is applied, which is so 
very strong that the parts thus cemented never separate. 
This glue will strongly unite pieces of glass and china, and 
even polished steel, and may be applied to a variety of useful 
purposes. The following is the receipt : 

Dissolve five or six bits of gum mastic, each the size of a 
large pea, in as much rectified spirits of wine as will suffice 
to render it liquid j and, in another vessel, dissolve as much 
isinglass, previously a little softened in water (though none 
of the water must be used), in French brandy or good rum, 
as will make a two ounce vial of very strong glue, adding 
two small bits of gum galbanum or ammoniacum, which 
must be rubbed or ground till they are dissolved. Then 
mix the whole with a sufficient heat. Keep the glue in a 
vial closely stopped, and when it is to be used set the vial 
in boiling water. 

Artificial Honey. — Take 10 pounds of Havana sugar, 
4 pounds of water, 40 grains of cream tartar, 10 drops 
essence peppermint, and 3 pounds of honey ,• first, dis- 
solve the sugar in the water over a slow fire, and take off 
the scum arising therefrom. Then dissolve the cream tar- 
tar in a little warm water, and add, with some stkring ; 
then add the honey, heated to a boiling point ) then add the 
essence of peppermint ; stir for a few moments, and let it 
stand until cold, when it will be ready for use. 

Hatching Fish. — The Chinese practice a peculiar method 
cf hatching the spawn of fish, which, perhaps, may be 
useful for our fish cultivators to know. They carefully 
collect the spawn of their fish in the streams and rivers, 
fill empty shells of fresh eggs with it, carefully stop up 
the holes in the eggs, and set them under a setting hen. 
At the expiration of nine days they take these shells 
and break them in tanks contaming water wanned by 



THE HOME MECHANIC. S55 

the sun. Water in these tanks is frequently renewed, 
and in it the young fry are gradually developed until 
they are sufficiently large to be placed in fish ponds 
The sale of spawn fish for hatching forms an important 
branch of trade in China. 

! Gunpowder. — Nitre *75 parts, charcoal 12J parts, sul- 
phur 12 J parts. Mix. 

Cheap Galvanic Battery. — Take acylindrical vessel, and 
put another of porous porcelain inside of it; flllthe vessel 
with diluted sulphuric acid,and the space between the two 
with sulphate of copper (if you require to plate the arti- 
cle with copper) ; if not, a solution of the salt of gold, sil- 
ver, &c., according to that which you wish it to be ; put 
a slip of zinc in the sulphuric acid, and attach a copper 
wire to it, and the other end to the medal or article you 
wish to plate, and immerse that in the other solution. 
Your battery is now complete. If you want the copper 
to be very thick, you must put a few solid crystals of 
copper in the solution ; where you do not want it to 
come in contact, you must touch it with a little grease ; 
if you want to take the copper off the article you must 
do it over with a slight varnish. 



HINTS FOR HOUSEKEEPERS. 

Best Way to Dry Apples. — The most general method 
adopted in drying apples is, after they are pared, to cut 
them in slices, and spread them on cloths, tables, or 
boards, and dry them out-doorSo In clear and dry 
-weather this is, perhaps, the most expeditious and best 
way ; but in cloudy and stormy weather this way is at- 
tended with much inconvenience, and sometimes loss, in 
consequence of the apples rotting before they dry. To 
Bome extent they may be dried in this way in the house, 
though this is attended with much inconvenience. The 
best method that I have ever used to dry apples is to 
use frameSo These combine the most advantages with 
the leaBt inconvenience of any way, and can be used 



SS6 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

with equal advantage either in drying in the house or 
out in the sun. In pleasant weather the frames can be 
set out-doors against the side of the building, or any 
other support, and nights, or cloudy and stormy days, 
they can be brought into the house, and set against the 
side of the room near the stove or fire-place. My frames 
are made in the following manner : Two strips of 
board, T feet long, 2 or 2| inches wide — two strips 8 
feet long, I J inches wide, the whole | of an inch thick — 
nail the short strips across the ends of the long ones, 
and it makes a frame *T by 3 feet, which is a convenient 
size for all purposes. On one of the long strips nails 
are driven 3 inches apart, extending from the top to the 
bottom. After the apples are pared, they are quartered 
and cored, and with a needle and twine, or stout thread 
strung into lengths long enough to reach twice across 
the frame ; the ends of the twine are then tied together, 
and the strings hung on the nails across the frame. The 
apples will soon dry so that the strings can be doubled 
on the nails, and fresh ones put on or the whole of them 
removed, and others put in their place. As fast as the 
apples become sufficiently dry they can be taken from 
the strings, and the same strings used to dry more on. 
If large apples are used to dry, they can be cut in 
smaller pieces. Pears and quinces, and other fruits that 
can be strung, may be dried in this way. 

To Polish Enameled Leather. — 2 pints of the best 
cream ; 1 pint of linseed oil ; make them each lukewarm, 
and then mix them well together. Having previously 
cleaned the shoe from dirt, rub it over with a sponge 
dipped in the mixture ; then rub it with a soft dry cloth 
until a brilliant color is produced. 

To prevent Smoke from a Lamp. — Soak the wick in 
strong vinegar, and dry it well before you use it j it 
will then burn both sweet and pleasant, and give much 
satisfaction for the trifling trouble in preparing it. 

Washing Paint. — The best method to wash paint is to 
rub some bath-brick fine, and when you have rubbed 
some soap on the flannel, dip it in the brick. Th's will 
remove the grease and dirt speedily, without injury. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 857 

Alum in Starch. — For starching muslins, ginghams, 
and calicoes, dissolve a piece of alum the size of a shell- 
bark, for every pint of starch, and add to it. By so 
doing, the colors will keep bright for a long time, which 
is very desirable when dresses must be often washed, 
and the cost is but a trifle. 

Preservation of Milk and Cream. — Put the milk into 
bottles, then place them in a saucepan with cold water, 
and gradually raise it to the boiling point ; take it from 
the fire, and instantly cork the bottles, then raise the 
milk once more to the boiling point for half a minute. 
Finally let the bottles cool in the water in which they 
were boiled. Milk thus treated will remain perfectly 
good for six months. Emigrants, especially those hav- 
ing children, will find the above hint add much to their 
comfort while on their voyage. 

Oiling Leather. — Oils should not be applied to dry 
leather, as they will invariably injure it. If you wish 
to oil a harness, wet it over night, cover it with a blan- 
ket, and in the morning it will be dry and supple ; then 
apply neat's-foot oil in small quantities, and with so 
much elbow grease as will insure its disseminating it- 
self throughout the leather. A soft, pliant harness is 
easy to handle, and lasts longer than a neglected one. 
Never use vegetable oils on leather and among animal 
oils neat's foot is the best. 

Sow to Know Good Flour. — When flour is genuine or 
of the best kind, it holds together in a mass when 
squeezed by the hand, and shows the impressions of the 
fingers, and even of the marks of the skin much longer 
than when it is bad or adulterated ; and the dough made 
with it is very gluey, ductile, and elastic, easy to be 
kneaded; and may be elongated, flattened, and drawn 
in every direction without breaking. 

To Keep Milk from Turning Sour.— Add a little sub- 
carbonate of soda, or of potash. This by combining with, 
and neutralizing the acetic acid formed, has the desired 
efiect, and keeps the milk from turning sooner than it 
otherwise would„ The addition is perfectly harmless, 
and does not injure the taste. 



858 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Candles — Prepare your wicks about half the usual 
size, wet with spirits of turpentine, put them into the 
sun until dry, then mold or dip your candles. Candles 
thus made last longer, and give a much clearer light. 
In fact they are nearly or quite equal to sperm, in clear- 
ness of light. 

Preservation of Eggs.— Eggs may be preserved for 
any length of time by excluding them from the air„ One 
of the cleanest and easiest methods of doing this, is to 
pack them in clean, dry salt, in barrels or tubs, and to 
place them in a cool and dry situation. An old ship- 
master says, that he has eaten eggs thus preserved that 
were a twelvemonth old, and that had been some months 
aboard ship, in a tropical climate, and yet retained 
all the peculiar sweetness of new laid eggs. Some per- 
sons place eggs which they wish to preserve in a net- 
ting, or on a sieve of cullender, and immerse them for 
an instant in a cauldron of boiling water, before packing 
them away„ Sometimes eggs are placed in vessels con- 
taining milk of lime, or strong brine, or rubbed over 
with butter, lard, or gum water ; all of which act by 
excluding the air. 

Beet Boot Coffee. — A very good coffee can be made of 
beet root in the following manner ; Cut dry beet root 
into very small pieces, then gradually heat it in a close 
pan over the fire for about fifteen minutes. Now intro- 
duce a little sweet fresh butter, and bring it up to the 
roasting heat. The butter prevents the evaporation of 
the sweetness and aroma of the beet root, and when 
fully roasted it is taken out, ground and used like coffee. 
A beverage made of it is cheap, and as good for the hu- 
man system as coffee of chicory. 

Dried Herbs. — All herbs which are to be dried should 
be washed, separated, and carefully picked over, then 
spread on a coarse paper and keep in a room until per- 
fectly dry. Those which are intended for cooking should 
be stripped from the stems and rubbed very fineo Then 
put them in bottles and cork tightlyc Put these which 
are intended for medicinal purposes into paper bags, and 
keep them in a dry place. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 859 

To Make Yeast. — Boil 1 pound of good flour, J of a 
pound of brown sugar, and a little salt in 2 gallons of 
water, for one hour. When milk-warm, bottle it and 
cork it close. It will be ready for use in twenty-four 
hours. One pint of this yeast will make 18 pounds of 
bread. 

Cider Yeast. — Take cider from sour apples before it 
ferments, scald, skim thoroughly, and pour, while hot, 
upon flour enough to make stiff batter. When cool, add 
yeast of any kind, and let it rise, stirring it down as often 
as it tries to run over for several days, then put it in a 
cool place (where it will not freeze), and you will have 
something equal to the best hop yeast. It will keep 
until May without any further labor. 

Substitute for Yeast. — Boil 1 pound of flour, a J of a 
pound of brown sugar, and a little salt, in 2 gallons 
of water, for one hour. When milk-warm, bottle and 
cork close, and it will be ready for use in twenty-four 
hours. 

Excellent Vinegar. — To 1 gallon of clear closer blos- 
soms add 1 quart of molasses and a J pound of sugar ; 
pour over these one gallon of boiling water., When 
cold, add i a pint of good yeast. If more water is 
needed, add as you please. It makes strong, pure vine- 
gar. 

Cowslip Vinegar. — To 4 gallons of water with the 
chill just taken off, and 6 pounds of brown sugar and | 
a peck of cowslips, flowers and stalks together ; put all 
into a cask with 3 tablespoonfuls of yeast ; lay a 
piece of glass or slate over the bunghole, and set it in a 
warm place till the vinegar grows sour, when the bung 
may be fastened down. This is a cheap and excellent 
vinegar, keeping pickles nice and crisp. If kept in a 
warm place the vinegar will be ready in six months. 
A quarter of an ounce of gelatine or isinglass will make 
it clear sooner. 

Cider Vinegar. — After cider has become too sour for 
use, set it in a warm place, put to it occasionally the 
rinsings of the sugar basin or molasses jug, and any re* 



860 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

mains of ale or cold tea ; let it remain with the bung 
open, and you will soon have the best of vinegar. 

To give Lustre to Silver. — Dissolve a quantity of alum 
in water, so as to make a pretty strong- brine, and skim 
it carefully ; then add some soap to it, and dip a linen 
rag" in it, and rub over the silver. 

To keep Preserves. — Apply the white of an egg, with a 
suitable brush, to a single thickness of white tissue pa- 
per, with which cover the jars, overlapping the edges an 
inch or two . When dry, the whole will become as tight 
as a drum. 

To take Stains out of Linen. — Stains caused by acids 
can be removed by wetting the part and laying it on 
some salt of wormwood ; then rub it without diluting it 
with more water. 

Or, tie ap in stained part some pearlash; then scrape 
some soap into cold soft water, to make a lather, and 
boil the linen till the stain disappears. 

Eecent stains of fruit may be removed by holding the 
linen tightly stretched over a tub and pouring hot water 
over the part. This must be done before any soap has 
been applied to it. As soon as the stain is made on ta- 
ble linen, &c., rub on it common table salt, before it has 
had time to dry; the salt will keep it damp till the cloth 
is washed, when the stain will disappear ; or, wash the 
stain lightly when the cloth is removed. 

To stop a Leak. — Yellow soap, beaten up thick, with 
whiting, and rubbed into the leak, has sometimes stopped 
it when all other things have failed. 

To Glean Gold. — Powder some whiting, and make it 
into a moist paste with some sal volatile. Cover over 
the gold ornaments and surface with a soft brush, let ft 
dry, and then brush it off with a moderately hard brush. 

Measures for Housekeepers. 

Best brown sugar. 1 lb. 2 oz is 1 quart. 
Eggs 10 eggs are 1 lb . 



Wheat flour , 1 lb is 1 quart . 

Indian meal.-.. ... ,1 " 2 oz. " 1 '• 
Butter when sott.. .1 " .... "1 " 
Loaf sugar, broken. 1 " ..." 1 " 
"White sugar J powd.l " 1 oz. " 1 " 

lilqiiids 
16 large tablespoonfuls, are. .half a piut. 

8 large tablespoonfuls, are. .one gill. 

4 large tablespoonfuls , are . . half a gill . 

2gins, are half a pint. 

2 pints, ar J oae quart. 



Flour 8 quarts '• 1 peck. 

Flour 4 pecks " 1 bush. 



4 quarts are one gallon. 

A common sized tumbler hole's half a pint, 
A common sized wine-glass. , half a gill, 
25 drops are equal to . . . one teaspeontul . 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 861 

Oyster Catsup. — Take fine fresh oysters, rinse them in 
their own liquor, then pound them in a marble mortar, 
and to a pint of oysters put a pint of cherry wine ; boil 
them up, add an ounce of salt, 2 drachms of cayenne 
pepper, let it boil up once again, rub it through a sieve ; 
when cold, put it in bottles and cork and seal them. 

Batter Pudding. — Beat 4 eggs thoroughly, mix with 
them \ pint of milk, and add them, by degrees, to 
I pound of flour. When the batter is perfectly 
smooth, thin it with another half pint of milk. Flour 
well a wet pudding-cloth, pour the batter in, leave it 
room to swell, tie it securely, and put it in plenty of fast 
boiling water. 

Lemon Pudding. — Half a pound of sugar, J pound 
of butter, 1 lemon grated, and the juice added ; 5 
eggs will make two pies. 

Gingerbread Nuts. — One pound of flour ; rub into it 
\ pound of white powdered sugar, 1 ounce of grated 
ginger, and the peel of a lemon. Bake in a slow oven. 

Jumbles. — Half a pound of sugar, i pound of butter, 
I pound of flour, and 2 eggs. 

Oyster Patties. — Take of oysters sufiicient for the pat- 
ties you may chance to want, strain the liquor and re- 
turn it to them, mix them with very fine bread-crumbs 
until they are of a proper thickness, add a little scalded 
cream, and season the whole with pepper, salt, and 
cayenne pepper ; warm the whole in a sauce-pan till it 
begins to simmer ; when cold, put it in the paste, and 
bake it in the shape of small mince pies, three inches in 
diameter. The beards and horny part should be cut oif, 
and the oysters cut into two or three pieces. 

Cold Fried Chicken. — Cut the chicken in quarters, and 
take ofi" the skin, rub it with an eg^ beaten up, and 
cover it with grated bread seasoned with pepper, salt, 
grated lemon-peel, and chopped parsley, fry it in butter, 
thicken a little brown gravy with flour and butter, add 
a little cayenne pepper, lemon pickle, and mushroom 
catsup. 



862 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Water-Proof Porous Cloth. — Several inquiries have 
been made of us, lately, respecting the mode of prepar- 
ing cloth to render it water-proof, and yet maintain its 
porosity. Close waterproof cloth fabrics, such as glazed 
J oil-cloth, India-rubber, and gutta-percha cloth are com- 
[pletely water-proof, but do not permit perspiration and 
the exhaled gases from the skin to pass through them„ 
because they are air-tight as well as water-tight, 
Persons who wear air-tight garments soon become 
faint, if they are undergoing severe exercise, such as 
that to which soldiers are exposed when on march. A 
porous, water-proof cloth, therefore, is the best for outer 
garments during wet weather, for those whose duties or 
labor causes them to perspire freely. The best way for 
preparing such cloth is by the process adopted for the 
tunics of the French soldiers during the Crimean war. 
It is as follows : Take 2 J pounds of alum and dissolve 
this in 10 gallons of boiling water ; then in a separate 
vessel dissolve the same quantity of sugar of lead in 10 
gallons of water, and mix the two solutions^ The cloth 
is now well handled in this liquid, until every part of it 
is penetrated ; then it is squeezed and dried in the air, or 
in a warm apartment, then washed in cold water and 
dried again, when it is fit for use„ If necessary, the 
cloth may be dipped in the liquid and dried twice before 
being washed. The liquor appears curdled,when the alum 
and lead solutions are mixed together. This is the re- 
sult of double decomposition, the sulphate of lead, which 
is an insoluble salt, being formed. The sulphate of lead 
is taken up in the pores of the cloth, and it is unaffected 
by rains or moisture, and yet it does not render the cloth 
air-tight „ Such cloth is also partially non-inflammable. 
A solution of alum itself will render cloth, prepared as 
described, partially water-proof, but it is not so good as 
the sulphate of lead. Such cloth — cotton or woolen — 
sheds rain like the feathers on the back of a duck. 

Magic Copying Paper. — To make black paper, lamp- 
black mixed with cold lard ; red paper, Venetian Red 
mixed with lard ; blue paper, Prussian Blue mixed with 
iardj green paper. Chrome Green mixed with lard, Th«> 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 863 

abovt ingredients to be mixed to the consistency o! 
thick paste, and to be applied to the paper with a rag". 
Then take a flannel rag, and rub until all color ceases 
coming off. Cut your sheets four inches wide, aud six 
inches long ] put four sheets together, one of each color, 
and sell for twenty-five cents per package^ The first 
cost will not exceed three centSo 

Directions for writing with this paper ; Lay down 
your paper upon which you wish to write ; then lay on 
the copying paper, and over this lay any scrap of paper 
you choose ; then take any hard pointed substance and 
write as you would with a pen- 

Varnish for Maps, Drawings, dec. — Boil some clear 
parchment cuttings in water, in a glazed earthen vessel, 
till they produce a very clear size ; strain it, and keep it 
till wanted ; then give the work two coats of the size, 
passing the brush quickly over the work, so as not to 
disturb the colors. Or, mix 1 ounce of Canada balsam 
and 2 ounces of spirits of turpentine together, then 
size the map, or drawing, with a solution of isinglass in 
water, and when dry apply the varnish with a camels' 
hair brush. 

Silver Plating Fluid. — Dissolve 1 ounce of nitrate of 
silver in crystal, in 12 ounces of soft water, then dis- 
solve in the water 2 ounces cyanuret of potash, shake 
the whole together, and let it stand till it becomes clear. 
Have ready some half ounce vials, and fill half full of 
Paris white, or fine whiting, and then fill up the bottles 
with the liquor, and it is ready for use. The whiting 
does not increase the coating power, it only helps to clean 
the articles, and to save the silver fluid, by half filling 
he bottles. 

Furniture Polish. — Take equal parts of sweet oil and 
vinegar, mix, add a pint of gum arabic finely powdered 
This will make furniture look almost as good as new 
and can be easily applied, as it requires no rubbing ' 
The bottle should be shaken, and the polish poured on 4 
rag and applied to the furniture. 



864 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

fuse it in an iron kettle ; then add 5 gallons of boiled 
linseed oil, 1 pound of litharge, J pound of sulphate oi 
zinc (add these slowly or it will fume over), and boil them 
for about three hours. Now add I J pounds of dark gum 
amber, and boil for two hours longer, or until the mass 
will become quite thick when cool, after which it should 
be thinned with turpentine to due consistency 



RECEIPTS FOR HORSES. 

Cough Ball for Horses. — Pulverized ipecac, | ounce ; 
camphor, 2 ounces; squills, -|- ounce. Mix with honey to 
form into mass, and divide into eight balls. Give one 
every morning. 

Fever BcUL — Emetic tartar and camphor, each ^ ounce ; 
nitre, 2 ounces. Mix with linseed meal and molasses to 
make eight balls. Gixe one twice a day. 

Worm Balls. — Assafoetida, 4 ounces; gentian, 2 ounces; 
strong mercurial ointment, 1 ounce. Make into mass 
with honey. Divide into sixteen balls. Give one or 
jnore every morning. 

Purgative Ball. — Aloes, 1 ounce ; cream tartar and 
castile soap J ounce. Mix with molasses to make a 
ball. 

Diuretic Balls. — Castile soap scraped fine, powdered 
rosin, each 3 teaspoonfuls ; powdered nitre, 4 teaspoon- 
fuls ; oil of juniper, 1 small teaspoonful ; honey, a suffi- 
cient quantity to make into a ball. 

Cathartic Foivder. — To cleanse out horses in the spring, 
making them sleek and healthy. Black sulphuret of anti- 
mony, nitre, and sulphur, each equal parts Mix wei/ 
together, and give a tablespoonful every morning. 

Blistering Liniment. — Powdered Spanish flies, 1 ounce*, 
spirits turpentine, 6 ounces. Rub on the belly for paiE 

the bowels, or on the surface for internal inflammation 

Liniment for Sprains, Swellingyy &c. — Aqua ammonia, 
spirits camphor, each 2 ounces; oil origanum and lauda- 
num, each J ounce. Mix. 

Lotion for Mange. — Boil 2 ounces tobacco in one quar; 
water; strain; add sulphur and soft soap, each 2 ounces. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 865 



TANNING. 



The process of tanning consists in the turning of the 
skins of animals into leather by combining, chemically, 
the substance of the skin with tannin, an astringent in- 
gredient. 

Tannin is made from Gall Nuts, which are found upon 
certain species of oak, and also occurs in a number of 
other trees and plants. The galls are formed by the female 
insect Cynips by piercing the buds of a variety of oak 
called Quercus infectoria and there depositing its eggs. 
These, producing irritation, cause the sap of the plant to 
flow toward the wound, thus forming a vegetable tumor 
or gall. The principal species of oak which yields the Gall 
Nuts of commerce is the Qiierciis infectoria. 

There are a large number of processes by which tannin 
is obtained ; owing to lack of space we will give but one 
process, known as Pelouze's Process. By this process, tan- 
nin — or tannic acid, as it is sometimes called — is obtained 
by means of a percolator fitted into a receiver. The perco- 
lator is a cylindrical glass vessel, open at both ends, the 
upper opening being fitted with an air-tight stopper, 
and the lower end adjusted to the neck of the glass re- 
ceiver. The upper vessel, or percolator, is about half 
filled with coarsely-powdered galls, which are prevented 
from falling through the lower opening by a plug of cot- 
ton; the powder is then covered with ether, which has 
been previously shaken up with a little water. (It is well 



ggg THE HOME MECHANIC. 

to state here that it is absolutely necessary that the ether 
should be agitated with water, otherwise not a fraction 
of tannin will be obtained.) The stopper is now inserted in 
the mouth of the percolator and the mixture allowed to 
digest for several hours, after which the stopper is with- 
drawn and the liquid allowed to filter into the receiver 
beneath. When all the liquid has passed through, the 
powdered galls are washed with more ether, introduced at 
the top as before. After standing for a short time, the 
filtered liquor will be found to separate into two distinct 
strata of unequal density. The tannic acid and gallic 
acid, being both extracted by the mixture of ether and 
water, now separate; the lower stratum being a solution 
of tannin (generally of an amber color) in water, and the 
upper stratum an etherial solution of other substances con- 
tained in the galls, the most important of which is Gallic 
acid. The two solutions are next separated; the aqueous 
solution of tannin is gently evaporated at a temperature 
not exceeding 212° Fahr. The result is an amorphous, or 
uncrystallized, mass of tannin, nearly if not quite pure, 
the yield being frequently about 40 to 45 per cent of the 
weight of galls used. The ether in the lighter liquid is 
recovered by distillation, over a water bath, with the aid 
of a Liebig's condenser, supplied with ice-cold water. 

One method of salting hides consists in spreading 
the hides open upon the ground and sprinkling the flesh 
side with salt, but more liberally at the edges and along 
the spinal parts. The hides are then folded or doubled 
lengthwise down the centre ; the remaining folds are made 
over each other, commencing with the shanks ; next the 
peak of the belly upon the back ; afterwards the head upon 
the tail part, and the tail part upon the head; and, lastly, 
doubling the whole with a final fold, and forming a square 
of about two feet. This being done, they are piled three 
or four together, and left until the salt has dissolved and 
penetrated their tissue, which is generally in about three 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 867 

or four days. Thus preserved they are sent to market. 
Skms may be dried, even after having been salted, by 
stretching them upon poles, with the flesh side outwards 
and exposing them to dry air in a shady place. Ten 
pounds of salt in summer, and somewhat less in winter 
are requisite for each skin of ordinary size. ' 

Tanning of Skins with Fur On. -After softening the 
skm by soaking, cut off all useless parts, and, having re- 
• moved all fatty substance from the inside, soak it for one 
hour in warm water. After this mix for each skin about 
a half ounce of sulphate soda, a half ounce of borax, and a 
half ounce of saltpetre with enough water to make'a thin 
paste. Then take a brush and cover the inside of the skin 
with this paste, being careful to apply more to the thick 
parts than to the thin. Fold the skin, flesh side in, and 
put it in a cool place for twenty-four hours. Melt sl'owlv 
together, without being allowed to boil, two ounces of 
hard white soap, one ounce of sal-soda, and a half ounce 
of borax; apply this mixture to the skin with a brush in 
the same way as before, after having washed the skin 
clean. Then double the skin together, the same as before 
and put It in a warm place. After allowing it to remaiil 
for twenty-four hours, dissolve, in enough hot rain-water 
to saturate the skin, two ounces saleratus, four ounces 
alum, and eight ounces salt ; when this solution is cool 
enough not to burn the hands, place the skin in it and 
allow It to soak for twelve hours; then hang it up to dry 
after wringing out. Repeat this soaking and drying seve- 
ral times until the skin has reached a sufficient degree of 
softness; then even off the surface of the inside with 
pumice stone or sand-paper. 

Depilation by Sulphide of Sodium. -Dissolve four 
or flve pounds of the sulphide in each gallon of water 
Form^ this into a thin paste with lime or pipe-clay. The 
paste is to be spread evenly over the hair side of the hide 
which is effected by cue workman pouring it from a pail 



868 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

down the middle of the hide, while another, with a mop, 
rubs it into every part. The hide is then folded into a 
cushion and set aside. In from fifteen to twenty hours 
it will be ready for unhairing, when it will be found that 
the hair is reduced to a pulp and therefore totally de- 
stroyed. In the above concentrated condition the hair 
would doubtless be destroyed in less than an hour. The 
hides are now thrown into cold water, to wash away the 
sulphide and to enable them to plump. The sulphide be- 
ing highly caustic, it will, if not removed by washing, 
attack the nails and skin of the workmen, who should be 
thoroughly cautioned as to its use, otherwise they will 
soon suffer from * * alkaline sores " of a most painful charac- 
ter. This method of unhairing gives good weight, as also 
tough and solid leather, but it requires to be used with 
very great care. If not spread evenly upon the hide, 
patches of hair may remain upon the pelt which will be 
troublesome to remove afterwards. Unless the hides, after 
being treated by the sulphide, are plumped by steeping in 
weak lime, the fleshy matters will be difficult to remove 
on the beam. Raising by acid is also considered neces- 
sary, since the sulphide itself has but little plumping 
effect. In applying this process to dressing hides, the 
sulphide is used in a more diluted condition, the hides be- 
ing suspended in a solution of the sulphide, three-quarters 
of a pound being used to a hide. After suspension in this 
solution for about twenty -four hours the hides are in the 
condition for unhairing, after which they are limed to 
plump or swell them. Now and then sulphide of sodium 
fails to wholly remove the epidermis, producing ugly 
stains on the leather. In a case of this kind, treat the im- 
perfectly depilated skin with milk of lime, which removes 
all trace of the epidermis very quickly. 

Funcke's Tanning Process.— The unhaired skins or 
hides are passed through a solution of commercial soda, 
and then hung up until nearly dry before subjecting them 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 869 

to the tanning process. The skins are immersed in a solu- 
tion of bark or other tanning material, to which is added 
a dilute vegetable acid. By this solution the pores of the 
skin are opened while being exposed to the action of the 
tannic acid. The skins are again subjected to the action of 
a stronger solution of the vegetable acid, and its action is 
mollified by the addition of a solution of sugar. Finally, 
while the skins are subjected to the usual handling, they 
are treated with a solution of tannic acid until the leather 
is finished ; but since the tanning liquor used in this pro- 
cess is of such strength as to impart too deep a color for 
most purposes, the color is reduced, when requisite, by 
adding, in the last stage of the process, sulphuric acid and 
salt to the tanning liquor in which the skins are worked. 
The skins are partially dried after each operation before 
submitting to the next. 

A New Tanning Process. — In this process the hides are 
subjected to two solutions, mixed as follows : for the first 
solution, dissolve in twenty to thirty parts of wood vine- 
gar, twenty to thirty parts of chromate of alumina, and di- 
lute with water to one thousand parts ; for the second solu- 
tion, dissolve in ammonia some ammonio-nickel chloride 
compounded with a concentrated solution of tartar. After 
carefully freeing the hides from lime, place them in a 
mixture composed of two parts of the first solution and 
one part of the second. For thick bullock hides eighteen 
to twenty-one days are adequate. 

Page's Tanning Process.— By this process the hides 
and skins are limed in weak and strong solutions, un- 
haired, drenched in hen manure or other suitable bate, 
and immersed and handled in coloring liquors made from 
equal parts of any suitable bark and sweet fern, cutch and 
sweet fern, or gambler and sweet fern. A mixture is then 
prepared with the following ingredients: forty parts of 
common salt, chloride of potassium, or ammonium, forty 
parts of alum, and thirteen parts of saltpetre. These are 



870 THE HOME MECTHANIC. 

thoroughly mixed and dissolved in four vats half-filled 
with water. The vats measure six feet by four, and are 
numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4. One-third more of the mixture is 
put into 3 and 4 tjpian into 1 and 2. After a salt solution has 
been thus prepared, a tin solution is prepared as follows : 
to two gallons of the stronger salt solution are added two 
quarts of oil of vitriol, two gallons of muriate of tin of 
140° to 150° Twaddell, twenty -eight gallons of muriatic 
acid of 20° to 30° Baume, and two gallons of nitric acid 
of 36° to 40° B. The hides are tanned by being immersed 
in the four vats successively; one pint of the tin solution 
being first added to the solutions in vats 3 and 4, and one 
pint added to each of these solutions whenever a fresh lot 
of hides are put in. The coloring liquor first described 
may, if desired, be made without sweet fern or exclu- 
sively from sweet fern. The tanning is said to occupy a 
very short time, and the leather produced is stated to be 
exceedingly tough and close in fibre. 

Tanning by a Quick Process. — The skins are placed 
in a hermetically closed fulling trough, after having been 
put through the usual running- water treatment. To every 
hundred pounds of skins, to be weighed when taken from 
the water, a mixture of one pound of sulphate of copper, 
twenty pounds of bark of oak root, thirty pounds of divi- 
divi, thirty pounds of alum, and sixty-five pounds of acidu- 
lated barley meal is contained in the water in the fulling 
trough. In place of sulphate of copper, sulphate of 
ammonia or sulphate of zinc may be substituted; other 
materials containing tannin may be used in place of divi- 
divi and bark of oak root ; and alum may be substituted by 
sulphate of alumina. When the skins are in the fulling 
trough they are turned, for twenty-four hours, repeatedly ; 
the hides are then put in a common vat together with the 
tanning fluid, and are taken out and put back again, daily, 
from fifteen to twenty days. At the end of this time they 
are transferred to an ordinary pit and put in tan ; here 



THE HOME JIECHANIC. 871 

tliey are allow ed to remain from fifteen to thirty days, 
when the process is completed. The feature of this process 
is that in the presence of sulphate of copper, tannin and 
alum are used at the same time. 



873 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



SIX DESIGNS FOR FINISHED FENCES. 



In this illustration we represent half a dozen designs 
for finished fences. 

No. 1 has a boxed post fourteen inches square, made of 
inch-and-a-quarter or inch-and-a-half pine plank, secured 
to a locust post which is set three and a half feet in the 
ground. 

The fenc© is about five feet high, and is made of plank 
strips about eight inches wide, the outsides of which are 
sawed to a pattern and placed about an inch apart, and 
secured at the top and bottom by string pieces, with a 
moulding on the outside near the bottom and a heavy cap 
on the top. The work is all neatly planed, and the whole 
should be painted and sanded. 

No. 2 has a stone post about two feet square, and a stone 
base two and a half feet high, set three and a half feet in 
the ground. The sill is of pine, 4xl2-inch stuff, beveled 
on top, and the fence itself above this is made similar to 
No. 1. 

No. 3 is a tight board fence, made of tongued and 
grooved plank, put together with white lead in the joints. 
It has a moulded base about twelve inches high, and a 
heavy cap covering the top edges. Just below the cap a 
scrollwork, sawed out of inch-and-a-half stuff, is planted 
on the face, and under this is a heavy belt moulding. 

No. 4 has a cased post and a tight wooden bottom about 
two feet high, and on this is put an iron railing, which is 
screwed fast to both, and to locust posts put at intervals of 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



873 



about seven feet, or braced by iron rods to dwarf posts set 
inside the fence. 
No. 5 is similar to No. 1, except that the strips are only- 









five inches wide, and are set only about one-quarter to one- 
third of an inch apart, and the sawing is all near the top. 

No. 6 has a tight board bottom, and above it open pick- 
ets of four-inch stufiP, placed four inches apart, and the 
tops sawed in a trefoil pattern. 



874 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



SIX RUSTIC FENCES. 



Our designs for fences would hardly be complete without 
a few suggestions in the way of rustic fences ; accordingly 
in this illustration we exhibit half a dozen examples of 
them in their more simple and easily constructed forms. 

Designs of this sort may be varied almost to infinity, 
according to the taste of the workman and the materials 
with which he has to work. A skillful person, in a ramble 
of a couple of hours in the woods, may pick up hundreds 
of different kinds of twists and crooks, all of which he 
.may make use of, and by the exercise of a little ingenuity 
in the combination of these crooked pieces with straight 
ones, he may work up a very pretty design. In building 
a run of, say, a hundred feet, he may make the difi'erent 
sections all dissimilar, and by dividing each section into a 
number of smaller panels, as shown in the second figure 
of the illustration, he may make a very great variety of 
pretty patterns. This figure shows a section of about eight 
feet, divided into four panels. Straight pieces are used for 
strength, and the fiUing-up is of the crooked stuff. 

The heavy posts which divide the sections should be 
from six to eight feet apart — not over eight — and should 
be set from three and a half to four feet in the ground ; 
and it would be well to char the ends, as by so doing the 
possibilities are that the posts will last longer than if not. 

Red cedar is the best material, though sometimes white 
oak and sometimes locust is used. 

Designs Nos. 1, 3,' and 5 all have solid posts made of 
trunks of cedar trees. 

Nos. 2 and 4 have cedar or locust posts, boxed out with 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



875 



rough boards, and then covered over with strips of small 
stuff split, and the flat side nailed to the boxing. 




' €<i>Zffi^^\K<\'l^*Z^^M^^ 



fe/>J^ ''^»M»iP«ltfap!Vjr 








No. 6 has a very rough stone post, and a dwarf wall six- 
teen inches thick, coped with a rough blue-stone coping, 
and surmounted by rustic work secured by iron fastenings. 



876 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



TWO RU STIC GAT EWAYS. 

This illustration represents two designs for rustic gate- 
ways. 
No. 1 is a small gateway and two sections of a rustic 





THE HOME MECHANIC. 877 

fence, slightly differing from each other in design, and con 
structed in a manner similar to those on page 875. 

No. 2 is a carriage gateway suitable for an entrance to 
a gentleman's place. The gate-house is seen on the right, 
just within the fence. The central part, for carriages, is 
twelve feet wide, and the gates are in two parts. The 
smaller ones are four feet wide each. The one on the left 
may be made stationary, it having been introduced only 
for the purpose of giving a balance to the different parts 
of the design. 



878 THE HOME MECHANIC. 



To Estimate Live Cattle. 

Measure girth back of the shoulder and immediately 
behind the front legs, and from the root of the tail to a 
point even with the shoulder blade. Multiply them to- 
gether and divide the result by 144, and then multiply this 
result by the following : 

For a girth of 7-9 ft 31 lbs. 

5-7 ft 23 lbs. 

" " 3-6 ft 16 lbs. 

" " less than 3 ft 11 lbs. 

In the case of half -fat cattle deduct ^V? ^^^ i^ that of 
the very fat add ^ to this result. Thus, what is the weight 
of a fat steer 6 ft. 3 in girth, 5 ft. 4 in length? 75 in. (6 ft. 3) 
X64 (5 ft. 4 in.)=4800. 4800 -f- 144 =33^, And 33i mul- 
tiplied by 23=7661; add gij of 7661 (the steer is fat), or 38^, 
and we have 805 lbs. 

This is an approximating rule, not a demonstrated one, 
and must be corrected by the user's experience in special 
cattle. 

Table Showing the Price Per Dozen, 

When the number sold for a Quarter is given. 

In some localities articles such as eggs, lemons, oranges, 
etc. , are sold at so many for a quarter of a dollar, and it is 
often important to know what rate this is per dozen. The 
rule for calculating it is very simple: Divide 300 by the 
number that is sold for a quarter, and the quotient is the 
price per dozen in cents. In many cases the answer con- 
tains a fraction, and when this fraction is other than a 
quarter, third, half, or three-quarters of a cent, we have 
given the nearest of these fractions in the answer : 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



879 



No. for 
a Quarter. 

1 

2 

3 

4... 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 



Price 
per doz. 
,..$3.00 



50 

,00 

75 

60 

50 

43 

37i 

33i 

30 

27 

25 

23 

2U 

20 



No. for 
a Quarter. 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 



Price 
per doz. 

... 18f 
. . . 17i 

... m 

... 15f 

. .. 15 

. . . 14i 

. . . 13i 

... 13 
i2i 

... 12 

. . . lU 

... 11 

. . . lOf 

. . . lOi 

... 10 



Bricks. 

Bricks vary in size according to locality of manufacture. 
An ordinary brick is 8iX4x2, and still another "ordi- 
nary " brick is 8X4iX2^ and 7|X3f X2i. To calculate m 
the school method would make a long and tedious calcula- 
tion- nevertheless, for the sake of proving results, it may 
be used. A matter that must be taken into consideration 
is the mortar between the joints, which makes more differ- 
ence than would be ordinarily suspected. Thus, if an or- 
dinary brick 8iX4X2 (=66 cubic inches), with mortar i 
inch thick, it requires about 23| (23.6) bricks to a cubic 
foot of masonry; with mortar i inch thick, it requires 21i 
bricks; with mortar f inch thick, IH bricks; and with 
mortar i inch thick, 17i bricks. To ascertain the bricks m 
a wall ascertain the number' of cubic feet in the wall, and 
multiply by one of these figures (according to the mortar 

joint), thus: ^i f^r^f i- 

What is the number of bricks required for a wall of 50 teet 

long 10 feet high, 25 inches thick ; mortar joints i inch ? 
We have 50xl0x2iV feet (25 inches is equal to 2iV feet) 

= 10411 cubic feet, and this multiplied by 23. 6=24583 bricks. 



880 THE HOME MECHANIO. 

If the brick is larger or smaller than the standard brick 
chosen (8^X4X2), state a proportion as follows: 

As the cubic inches in regular brick: 73 (cubic inches 
in standard, with mortar attached) : : the number of bricks 
found as above : to the number required. 

For example, suppose there is a brick that measures 80 
cubic inches with mortar attached; how many such bricks 
would be required to build a wall, measurement as in the 
last example? Say, 
80 : 73 : : 24370 : to bricks required, which is 
21370X73 

=22237 bricks required. 

80 

But there is a simpler way. The face of the wall is 50 
feet X 10 feet=500 square feet. The ordinary brick with its 
joint measures on its end and face 4i (4.125) inches x2i 
(2.125), which gives an area of 8 765, and this divided into 
500 square feet (72000 square inches) gives 8214.5 bricks 
for a wall one brick (in length) thick; but the wall in 
question is 3 bricks through, hence it will require 3 times 
8214.5=24643.5. In large, plain walls 3 per cent will do to 
add for waste, but if there are corners, or many doors or 
windows, 5 per cent must be added. 

Another Method. 

Measuring by squares of 100 sq. ft. 

Rule. — Multiply the superficial area (face of the wall) 

by as many half -bricks as will make the thickness of the 

wall, and divide this result by 3 to get the number of feet. 

In the above example 20X 12X4=960. Divide by 3=320= 

3i squares. 

Another Method. 

A rough rule is to calculate 22 bricks (without consider- 
ing the mortar) to the cubic foot. This gives about 10 per 
cent, too little. When the percentage is known^ it will do 
to compute from. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 881 

In some parts of the country, brick is laid by the 100 
cubic feet — called a ' ' square " — that is, by the 100 square 
feet one foot thick. To reduce work of any dimensions to 
this measurement, proceed thus, say, to get the workman's 
dimensions for a wall 20 feet long, 13 feet high, and two 
bricks (in length)r thick : 20xl2xli (bricks 8 long each) 
=320 feet=3| square. 

Another Brick Measurement. 

Number of bricks required in wall per square foot of 
face of the wall : 

Thickness 
of wall 

^ brick (length) requires 7i bricks. 

1 " ♦' ♦* ..15 " 

U " '' " 22i " 

2 *' " " 30 ** 

2i " " " 37i *' 

Walls of greater thickness in direct proportion. 

New York Rule for Bricks. 

New York bricklayers reckon 7 bricks to every foot of 
surface — a. half brick thick. A wall 12 ft. long, 10 ft. high, 
and 4 in. thick would contain 12x10x7=840. This makes 
full allowance for waste. 

Stone Measure. 

Stone is now laid by cubic yard (or foot) in large work. 
To obtain dimensions in c. yds. multiply length, breadth, 
and thickness (in feet) of wall and divide by 27. Count 
walls under 16 in. as 16 in. ; count wall of 16 in. thickness 
or over at its actual measurement. Thus : what are the 
dimensions of a wall 27 ft. long, 12 ft. high, and 15 in. 
thick? It will be 27x12 xli (16 in. =1^ ft. instead of 15) 
=432^27=16 c. yards. 

Suppose dimensions 27 ft. long, 12 ft. high, and 17. in. 
thick, the measure would be 27x12 XW^ ft. (17 in.) =459 
cubic feet, and this divided by 27 gives 17 c. yards. 



882 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



A quarryman's percTj- (old style of measurement) is 24.75 
c. feet; a mason's is 22 c. feet. That is to say, a mason's 
perch is represented by a pile 16^ ft. long, 1 ft. high, and 
16 in. or less thick; a quarry man's by 16ift. in length, 1 
ft. high, and 18 in. thick. These standards are superseded 
by the c. yard, as aforesaid. 

Land Measurement, etc. 

7.92 inches constitute 1 link of Gunter's chain ; 100 
links, 1 chain, 4 rods or poles, or 66 feet, and 80 chains one 
mile. A square chain is 16 square poles, and 10 square 
chains are 1 acre. Four rods are an acre, each containing 
1210 square yards, or 34.785 yards, or 34 yards 28 inches 
each side. 

Forty poles of 30.25 square yards each is a rood, and a 
pole is 5^ yards each way. 

An acre is 4840 square yards, or 69 yds., 1ft., 8^ in. 
each way; and 2 acres, or 9680 square yds., are 98 yds., 1 
ft., 2 in. each way; and 3 acres are 120^ yds. each way. A 
square mile, or a U. S section of land, is 640 acres, being 
1760 yds. each way; half a mile or 880 yds. each way is 
160 acres ; a quarter of a mile or 440 yds. each way is 
a park or farm of 40 acres ; and a furlong or 220 yds. each 
way is 10 acres. 

Any length or breadth in yards which multiplied makes 
4840 is an acre, any which makes 12.10 is a rood, and 30.25 
is a pole. 

An English acre is a square ef nearly 70 yds. each way, 
a Scotch of 77i yds., and an Irish of 88^ yds. 

A field of any of these dimensions contains one acre: 
5 yards wide by 968 long. 10 yards wide by 484 long. 



20 






242 " 


80 






eoi " 


30 






16U •' 


50 






96f " 


16 






302i " 



40 




121 " 


70 


.'' " 


69} " 


55 




88 " 


47 




103 " 


59 




82 " 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



883 



The side of a square to contain 
l^cre, 208.71 feet; 12.65 rods; 64 paces, 
i acre, 147.58 feet; 8.94 rods; 45 paces, 
i acre, 120.50 feet; 7.30 rods; 37 paces, 
i acre, 104.36 feet; 6. 32 rods; 32 paces, 
^acre, 73.79 feet; 4.47 rods; 22i paces. 

Table giving proportions of an acre in square feet in a lot 
less than an acre : 





lOOths 




lOOths 


Square feet. 


of acre. 


Square feet. 


of acre. 


436 


.01 


11326 


.26 


871 


.02 


11761 


.27 


1307 


.03 


12197 


.28 


1742 


,04 


12632 


.29 


2178 


.05 


13068 


.30 


2614 


.06 


13504 


.31 


3049 


.07 


13939 


.32 


3485 


.08 


14375 


.33 


3920 


.09 


14810 


.34 


4356 


.10 


15246 


.35 


4792 


.11 


15682 


.36 


5227 


.12 ' 


16117 


.37 


5663 


.13 


16558 


.38 


6098 


.14 


16988 


.39 


6534 


.15 


17424 


.40 


6970 


.16 


17860 


.41 


7405 


.17 


18295 


.42 


7841 


.18 


18731 


.43 


8276 


.19 


19166 


.44 


8712 


.20 


19602 


.45 


9148 


.21 


20038 


.46 


9583 


.22 


20473 


.47 


10019 


.23 


20909 


.48 


10454 


.24 


21344 


.49 


10890 


.25 


21780 


.50 



884 THE HOME MECHANIC. 

Small Lots. — The following measurements will be 
found useful: 

52^ ft. sq., or 2,722i sq. ft.=T^^ of an acre. 

73f '* " 5,445 *' =i 
104i ** "10,890 " =i " 
120i '' "14,520 " =i " 
147^ " "21,780 " =i " 
208f " "43,560 " =lacre. 

To Find the Number of Acres in a Body op Land. — 
Rule: Multiply the length by the width (in rods), and 
divide the -product by 160; the result will be the answer 
in acres and hundredths. 

When the opposite sides of a piece of land are of unequal 
length, add them together and take one-half for the mean 
length or width. Multiply this by the depth, and divide 
by 31i. This will give the result required. 



THE HOME MECHANIC. 



885 



Table for Calculating Wages, from One Hour to 
Six Days, at from $1 to $20 per Week. 



For 6 
Days. 



$1.00 

1.50 

2.00 

2.50 

8.00 

3.50 

4.00 

4.50 

5.00 

5.50 

6.00 

6.50 

7.00 

7.50 

8.00 

8.50 

9.00 

9.50 

10.00 

10.50 

11.00 

11.50 

12 00 

13.00 

14.00 

15.00 

16.00 

17.00 

18.00 

19.00 

20.00 



1 
Bay. 



2 

Day8 



.16% 
.25 

.33^ 

.41% 

.50 

.581^ 

.66% 

.75 

.83^ 
.91% 

1.00 

1.08K 

1.16% 

1.25 

1.33K 
1.41% 
1.50 

1.58K 

166% 

1.75 

1.831^ 

1.91% 

2.00 

2.16% 

2.33% 

2.50 

2.66% 

2.83% 

3.00 

3.16% 

3.33% 



.33% 

.50 

.66% 

.83% 
1.00 
1.16% 
1.33% 



50 

66% 

»3% 

00 

16% 
2.33% 
2 50 
2.66% 
3.83% 
3.00 
3.16% 
3.33% 
3.50 
3.66% 
3.83% 
4.00 
4.33% 
4.66% 
5.00 
5.33% 
5.66% 
6.00 
6.33% 
6.66% 



3 

Bays 



.50 

.75 
1.00 



,25 
50 
,75 
,00 
25 
2.50 
2.75 
3.00 
3.25 
3.50 
3.75 
4.00 
4.25 
4.50 
4.75 
5.00 
5.25 
5.50 
5.75 
6.00 
6.50 
7.00 
7.50 
8.00 
8.50 
9.00 
9.50 
10.00 



1 
Hour. 



.01% 

.02% 

.03% 

•04^ 

.05 

.051 

•06% 

.07% 

.08% 

.09 

.10 

• loi 

.11% 

.12% 
.13% 

.in 

.15 

.15f 

.16% 

.17% 

.18% 

.19i 

.20 

.21% 

.23% 

.25 

.26% 

.28% 

.30 

.31% 

.33% 



2 

Hours 



.03% 

;o6% 

.08% 
.10 

.11% 

.13% 

.15 

.16% 

•18% 

.20 

.21% 

.23% 

.25 

.26% 

.30 

.31% 

.33% 

.35 

.36% 

.38% 

.40 

.43% 

.46% 

.50 

.53% 

.56% 

.60 

.63% 

.66% 



3 

Hours 



.05 

.07% 
.10 

.12% 
.15 

.17% 
.20 
.22% 
.25 
.27% 
.30 
.32% 
.35 
.37% 
.40 
.42% 
.45 
.47% 
.50 
-.52% 
.55 
.57% 
.60 
.65 
.70 
.75 
.80 
.85 
.90 
.95 
1.00 



4 

Hours 



.06% 

.10 

.13% 

.16% 

.20 

.23% 

.26% 

.30 

.33% 

.36% 

.40 

.43% 

.46% 

.50 

.53% 

.56% 

.60 

.63% 

.66% 

.70 

.73% 

.76% 

.80 

.86% 

.93% 
1.00 
1.06% 
1.13% 
1.20 
1.26% 
1.33% 



5 

Hours 



.08% 

.1^% 

.16% 

.20^6 

.25 

.29 i 

.83% 

.37% 

.41% 

.45 1 

.50 

.54 i 

.58% 

.62% 

.66% 

.70 i 

.75 

.79^ 

.83% 

.87% 

.91% 

.951 

1.00 

1.08% 

1.16% 

1.25 

1.33% 

1.41% 

1.50 

1.58% 

1.66% 



Note.— If the required sum is not in the table, double some number; for 
instance, if the salary or wages is $30.00, double the sum opposite $15.00, 
and so on with the rest. 



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